Bicycle Traveler January 2012

36
JANUARY 2012 - WWW.BICYCLETRAVELER.NL 1 WWW.BICYCLETRAVELER.NL - JANUARY 2012 Walkstool Goodbye Bangkok Iceland Photo Story Californian Beauty - - - International Magazine on Bicycle T ouring Bic y cle T raveler

Transcript of Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL - JANUARY 2012

Walkstool Goodbye Bangkok Iceland Photo Story Californian Beauty- - -

International Magazine on Bicycle Touring BicycleTraveler

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STORIES

E QUIPMENT

hoto Left PAUL JEURISSEN

over Photo ED BRABANDER httpmembershomenledmyrthe

CONTENTS

C OLUMN

P HOTOGRAPHY

INTERVIEW

BicycleTraveler

QUOTES

20

THE SPEEDSTERS By Steve Fabes34

TRUCKER TRACES By Andrew Morgan08

CALIFORNIAN BEAUTY By Hanna Mi Jakobson

22

PHOTO STORY - ICELAND By Willem Megens amp Rudi Verhagen14

TEST WALKSTOOL COMFORT By Tyler Kellen12

TRIP GEAR By Grace Johnson10

26 IMAGE FROM THE ROAD - CHINA By Benjamin Jacob

24 JOSIE DEW - C YCLING THROUGH FRANCE By Lynette Eyb

38 PARTING SHOT -BOLIVIA By Fearghal OrsquoNuallain

06

28 IMAGE FROM THE ROAD - UGANDA By Fabian Nawrath

TEST ORTLIEB FOLDING BOWL By Friedel Grant 13

32 WHAT DO C YCLISTS MISS ON THEIR TRIPS By Various Authors

THE ROAD By Fearghal OrsquoNuallain

GOODBYE BANGKOK By Rob Halkett

30 IMAGE FROM THE ROAD - INDIA By Paul Jeurissen

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Bicycle Traveler is copyright

Grace Johnson All material has

been used with permission and is

copyright original sources

Th atic pbihd ct th

opinions of their respective authors

and are not necessarily

those of the editor

COPYRIGHT

CONTACT

infobicycletravelernl

DISCLAIMER

Grace Johns

W w ovwhmd by th thiatic po to o t i of Bicyc

Traveler ndash 15000 downloads Then again maybe we shouldnrsquot be surprisedBicycle travelers are passionate about exploring the world and enjoy reading the ad-

ventures of others

Yet who is a bicycle traveler Is it someone who races around the world May-

be not according to this editionrsquos columnist Steve Fabes (p34) Irishman Fearghal

OrsquoNuallain writes about missing ldquothe roadrdquo (p6) but do cyclists long for the same

things when they are on it It turns out what they miss (p32) is as varied as the coun-

tries they travel through

From the editor

EDITOR

Grace Johnson

P h o t o s P A

U L J E U R I S S E N

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Someday all of this will come to an end the sleep-

ing rough chiseled calves calloused arse tak-

ing 8 hours of exercise a day wearing the same

clothes for two weeks straight having an interesting topic

for conversation worrying about incline gradient and

road surfaces eating like a horse being able to eat a

horse not knowing the name of the town Irsquom in forgetting

the name of the person Irsquom spending the night with cy-cling another twenty km till lunch to save 50 cents living

out of a waterproof bag in a steel trailer saying Irlanda

30 times a day saying nononnietnine not Hollandahellip

Irrrrrrlanda assessing the quality of a book by its size

and weight as well as its content wondering why anyone

would ever wear clothes that are not waterproofbreath-

ablequick dryinglightthermal

Someday Irsquoll be home Irsquoll have a fridge a cooker a

shower a cupboard and a bed Irsquoll be able to close a door

and be by myself talk to people in complex English with

an Irish accent using colloquialisms slang and very spe-

cic Aa Patidg fc Irsquo b ab to gt ot of my

bed and not have to pack it away and go to bed without

waiting for darkness or asking some onersquos permission Irsquoll

hav to gt p at a pcic tim ad do tak that om-

one else dictates Irsquoll have a phone and a set of keys

Someday my life will be normal again and uninterest-ing and Irsquoll probably miss my stop on the train because I

was daydreaming about when I lived on a special simple

world called the road

Road

The

- Fearghal ONuallain

Fearghal and Simon Evans are the rst Irish cyclists tocircumnavigate the globe You can read their trip reports athttprevolutioncycleie

P h o t o P A u l J e

u r I s s e n

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Truckers who traverse the long

barren stretches of desert tarmac

in Chilersquos Atacama Desert do so

much like male dogs canvassing city

blocksndashthey leavehellipuhhhellipbits of them-selveshellipeverywhere they go

Itrsquos impossible to take in an Atacama

viewndashthe scattered black moon rocks

the bone-colored sand dunes the moun-

tains that look as if theyrsquove been ripped

straight out of a Dali landscapendashwithout

oticig th cffd haf-d pa-

tic bottles as well Theyrsquore everywhere (sometimes one can be spotted every

100 yad) ad thyrsquo a d with th

am thig p

Thatrsquos right

P fok

The driest place on Earth is turning

out to be not such a dry a place after all

Itrsquos saturated almost with the urine ofpassing truckers

Thankfully truckers in this part of the

world create urine in hundreds of shades

of solely yellow and orange all hues that

blend nicely with the shifting shades of

the Atacamarsquos sands I have not once

spotted a bottle of the tell-tale bright

green urine of a daily-multi-vitamin-tak-

er Nor have I seen a container weighed

down with the dark brown amber pee of

a Coca-Cola-junkie I donrsquot know what

these drivers are eating and drinking but

whatever it is itrsquos stuff that keeps their

pee Atacama-colored

The problem rests with the plastic

bottles They give the place the feelingof a toilet bowl raised to the power of

two tah ca P th tadim aft

a soccer match minus 10 redwoods In

the middle of the desert in the center of

what should be one of the worldrsquos most

unique arid human-less places I see

liquid traces of lazy men (Irsquom making an

assumption here I know but I think itrsquos a

af o Oy m div ad p at th

same time) Instead of natural nothing-

ness Irsquom seeing lots of human stuff-nessI mt admit thogh sig a of

these bottles of trucker pee all over the

place has inspired my mind to delve into

areas of thought into which it never dared

venture before These are some of the

things I think about when I pass bottle

aft bott of Atacama tck p

1 How in the world do these guys

manage to pee into such small bottles

ad div at th am tim ray how

They must I assume carry (and hopefully

Trucker TracesStory amp Photo ANDREW MORGAN

Cyclist Andrew Morgan discovers that the Atacama desert isnrsquot completely dry

ldquoThatrsquos right

Pee folksrdquo

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wash every once in a while) funnels

2 Wow that one was incredibly

orange I never in my life have seen that

shade of orange before in pee or any-

where else I wonder if that guyrsquos OK

3 That bottle is so full it clearly has

been used many many times In between

uses for a few weeks where does he

to it I a cp hod ud hi at

4 If Chilean energy drink companies

were smart (are there any Chilean en-

ergy drink companies) they would send

scientists out into the desert to collect

samples from as many bottles of truck-

er pee as possible From the samplestheyrsquod be able to tell what nutrients and

other stuff truckers are lacking in their di-

t Pttig th thig ito a pcica-

ly-designed-for-truckers drink would cre-

ate a hit product one with an uncanny

ability to leave truckers feeling refreshed

5 Hy coondashomo d a mo-

ade bottle with pee that looks exactly likelemonade I mean

exactly Hmmmmhellip

actual lyhellipmaybe

itrsquos just a big bottle

of lemonade that

someone couldnrsquot

ih Wod it b

too risky to openthe thing and smell

it to see if maybe

it is lemonade and

maybe maybe I

could drink it Hmm-

mm Hmmmm Yes

Too iky Dity

6 uggggh I hat

seeing all of this

trash everywhere

If I wa Pidt

Read about Andrew Morganrsquos year-and-a-half long ride through the Americas at

wwwTeacherontwowheelscom A bookabout his trip is due out in 2012

BT

of Chile Irsquod create a pee-bottle recycling

program complete with incentives and

all For each ounce of pee you brought to

a recycling center yoursquod get some sort of

food A piece of carrot cake Or a donut

Not a drink of course but food

If you are a Chilean trucker please for

the love of the two or three animals that

call the Atacama home and all the tourists

all 10 of them who ride bicycles across

it each year please donrsquot throw bottles

of pee out your window while you drive

Stop get out of the truck take a breath

of fresh air and pee into the sand like ev-

eryone else

Thank you Gracias

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TRIP GEAR

Escaping the dark winter months by

touring Morocco or Mexico is fun but

gttig bt aft yo t day

of cycling isnrsquot Scape is a waterproof

sweat proof sunscreen which will not

rub off and run into your eyes It also

ha th hight uVA potctio of a

sunscreens on the market

Price $1499 US

wwwscapelabscom

Advanced Sunscreen

Th Motai Hadwa utalamia

32 sleeping bag weighs just 1 lb15 oz

(870 gr) and packs down to approximately6 inches (17 cm) long It is designed for

damp cool conditions and is rated to 37

degrees F (3 C)

Price $190 US

Synthetic Sleeping Bag

Sololite One Person TentThe Wild Country Sololite is an inex-

pensive all-season solo tent It weighs

4 lb 35 oz (less than 2 kg) and is over

7 feet (220 cm) long

Price $17849 US

wwwterra-novacouk

A look at equipment for bicycle travelersBy GRACE JOHNSON

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The Scrubr is a synthetic scouring pad

for cleaning your cooking gear Itrsquos

lightweight odor resistant and drips dry

in minutes The makers of Scrubr write

ldquoWe developed it because we weretired of having to throw away stinky

sponges after one camping triprdquo

Price $275 US

httplunatecgearcom

Scrubr Scouring Pad

Many Asian countries are full of cheaphotels so itrsquos tempting to leave your

camping gear at home Still if you become

stranded a cold night in the open can be

extremely uncomfortable An alternative

i to cay th sOl emgcy Bivy Itrsquo

made from the same material as space

bakt which ct 90 of yo body

heat back to youThe bag packs smalland weighs 38 oz (107 gr)

Price $50 US

wwwadventuremedicalkitscom

Emergency Bivy Bag

TrendyDigitalrsquos SplashGuard case is a

padded pouch with a protective screen

Itrsquos also resistant to water and dust You

can operate the keyboard and naviga-

tion button of your Kindle right through

the case It weighs 45 oz (128 gr) and

the company also makes protective

ca fo th iPad

Price $1599 US

httptrendydigitalcom

Kindle Protection

EQUIPMENT

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Amonth before we left on our round

the world trip I began thinking ldquowhat

are we going to sit onrdquo After talking it

over with Tara (my wife) we decided our

requirements for a chair were (in order

of impotac) compact iz comfot-

able to sit in and (hopefully) very light

I started at the tip of the camp seatingiceberg by looking what Id used during

a my ai famiy campig tip tho

foldable chairs movie directors are sup-

posed to sit in I found big ones comi-

cally small ones wooden ones steel

ones aluminum ones and countless oth-

er variations before realizing the solution

had to lay elsewhere Delving deeper Idiscovered a dizzying array of options

including hundreds of folding chairs a

weird collapsible sling we tried it it was

awful) chairs with more moving parts

tha a ca ad ay gttig co ot

of th ggd o that md to t

the bill except they were all rather large

Once Id decided that a three leggedchair had the most potential I started

looking for one with telescoping legs I

knew it had to exist It took a lot of hunt-

ing but I eventually found the Swedish

made Walkstool and it had everything

w watd ma coapd iz vy

comfortable seating and thanks to its

amim cotctio ight wight O

of the things I like most about the Walk-

stool is that you can sit on it when the

legs arent extended the perfect height

for working on the drivetrain of your bi-

cycle or preparing dinner on the ground

After six months of use and abuse they

look brand new and work just as well as

they day they arrived at our doorstep I

oy hav o gativ thig to pot

they need better advertising

Walkstool Comfort

WALKSTOOL COMFORT

HEIGHT 18 IN (45 CM)

FOLDED LENGTH 11 IN (28 CM)

WEIGHT 26 OZ (725 GR)

MAXIMUM LOAD 440 LBS (200 KG)

By TYLER KELLEN

Tyler Kellen amp Tara Alan spent two yearscycling around the world Their websitewwwgoingslowlycom is the scrapbook of

their adventures together

GEAR REVIEWS

For further information on the Walkstool

Comfort see wwwwalkstoolcom

BT

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EQUIPMENT

S

ometimes itrsquos hard to separate the

important accessories from the friv-

olous ones when choosing what to take

on a tour For a long time we put Ort-

liebrsquos 10 litre folding bowl in the sec-

ond category We couldnrsquot imagine why

we needed one

It wasnrsquot until we met a couple with not

one but two folding bowls on tour that we

reconsidered our decisionSince then the

bowl (which comes in 5 litre and 20 litre siz-es as well) has been one of our most reg-

ularly used items What do we use it for

Doig lady sik a oft with-

out plugs or if yoursquore camping you may

not have access to a sink at all The bowl

is great for doing laundry in and you can

fold it together with the clothes inside to

help squeeze out excess waterCoctig wat fo tig W gt

a large amount of water together in the

bow to t ito o bott wh wrsquo

in places where we canrsquot trust the water

showig u th bow to cay v-

erything you need for your shower back

and forth between the bathrooms and

the tent If yoursquore wild camping you canalso use the bowl to collect water from a

stream or river for a bucket shower

Washing Dishes Throw them all in

with a little dish soap and you have an

instant sink or just use the bowl to carry

everything to the washing area

Cleaning Food You can throw large

quantities of vegetables in the bowl to

be washed We use ours a lot for salad

leaves which are too bulky to clean in

our saucepans You can also use the

Ortlieb 10 Litre Folding BowlBy FRIEDEL GRANT

Friedel amp Andrew Grantrsquos extensive website

wwwtravellingtwocom contains their tripreports resources for bicycle travelers andthe e-book ldquoBike Touring Survival Guiderdquo

bowl as an extra serving dish We often

make and dress our salads directly in it

Itrsquos hard to think of a day where we

donrsquot use our Ortlieb Bowl When it isnrsquot

being put to work it folds up into a tri-

angle and sits on top of our camping

mattresses which lie across Friedelrsquos

two back panniers So howrsquos it holding

up After 2 years of constant use our

bowl is showing some signs of wear but

nothing that stops us using it as we wantto The sides are a little saggy but it still

maintains the bowl shape A small hole

did develop in the bottom along the fold

lines of the bowl but we patched it with

our puncture repair kit and havenrsquot had a

problem since

ORTLIEB 10 LITRE FOLDING BOWLWEIGHT 92 OZ (260 GR)

BT

For more information on the folding bowl

see wwwortliebde

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IcelandWillem Megens and Rudi Verhagen experienceIcelandrsquos dramatic landscape as they cycle

around the Vatnajoumlkull glacierPhotos WILLEM MEGENS amp RUDI VERHAGEN

PHOTO STORY

Photo WILLEM MEGENS

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Watching icebergs drift by at Joumlkulsaacuterloacuten

Photo RUDI VERHAGEN

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65

4

3

2

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1 The turquoise lake of Kraa

2 Rudi relaxes at Stafafell campsite

3 Willem crosses the Syri Oacutefael river

4 Church near Uljoacutetsvatn

5 Loose sand on the jeep track to

Hviacutetaacuternes lake 6 Curious locals

Willem and Rudi love bicycletouring since it gives them a sense

of freedom and satisfactionYou can see more of their photos

at httpthemeegnl

Photo cdit 2 4 5 Wim Mg

1 3 6 rdi Vhag

1

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Southern California is a blend of

the athentic and the aticia

The natural landscape continu-

ously shifts between green hills rugged

cliffs and sandy dunes One reoccur-

ring feature is the golf course I imagine

the golf players live in the ritzy and rich

neighborhoods that I passed on the way

such as Monterey with all its grand vil-

las protected by high walls and Malibursquos

fenced in fancy houses that occupy en-

tire beaches I did not go behind those

glamorous facades but outside of them I

met several genuine generous and gor-geous people

As I bicycled past the high walls and

private beaches the Big Sur coast ap-

peared in all its simple beauty The luxury

life sometimes drove by me in the shape

of fast cars that looked like bat-mobiles

and suV the ength of imoine sti

I cycled on with the help of the wind Itpushed me up the high hills and treated

me with splendid views from the top be-

fore blowing me back down to sea level

The scenery was spectacular with water-

falls plunging into the ocean waves that

invited me in for a salty bath and camp

grounds with the star lit sky as the only

light source

Californiarsquos animals are full of charac-

ter Cute and clever raccoons ran their

nightly raids in search of food around my

tent During the day frisky squirrels jumped

in the ed and azy eephant ea took

naps on the beach The city animals

have had a make-over to match the de-

signer handbags that they sit in Spoiled

pets were pampered in cat-spas in glitzy

lo Angee and ate gazed dog bicit

from the bakeries of wealthy Carmel In

the beach town of Solana pet owners

could even book a consultation for advice

on reducing the climate change impact

of their animalrsquos high carbon lifestyle

All of the pets and people who peek out

from a fashionable handbag gaze over aprotective wall watch through their bat-

mobile car window or look beyond the

aticia andcape of a gof coe can

still enjoy the true beauty of California

the coast For me it was amazing to see

eappeaing view of the Pacic Ocean It

was there next to the Santa Barbara col-

lege house that I stayed in It was thereas I stretched my calves and thighs after

climbing the Big Sur hills It was there as

I hng ot by the kateboad pak at Ven-

ice Beach It was there as I dried in the

sun after a swim near San Diego and it

will continue to be by my side as I start

cycling through the beauty of Mexico

C A L I F O R N I A N

B E A U T Y

You can follow Hanna Mi Jakobsonrsquosfurther trans-American travels atwwwhannamijakobsoncom

Swedish journalist Hanna Mi Jakobson cycled

the Californian coast in search of new views

BT

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P h o t o s H A

N N A M I J A K O B S O N

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As I had been staying in northern

Bangkok it meant that I had to

ride through the city center and

out the other side when it was time to go

I hoped that by leaving at 630am I would

miss all the early morning commuter traf-

c How wog cod I b Fom th mo-ment I left the safety of the hotel car park

I wa attackd by tafc ev with a

my bicycle lights blazing the drivers still

couldnrsquot see me at one point I thought it

might be safer if I turned the lights off be-

cause then at least they wouldnrsquot know

what to aim for During that ride through

the city horns blared all around me andcars driven by madmen desperate to get

to work inched passed me

Cycling manners At t I wa a poit a I cod poi-

bly be lsquorsquocome on guys take your time and

give me a bit of room here after all we

are in this togetherrsquorsquo after about half an

hour of this politeness I managed to get

the sentence down to a couple of choice

words and hand gestures that are under-

stood in most countries Finally after three

hours of madness I managed to reach

the city outskirts and I was completely

lost Following my compass south witha map that was not detailed enough to

show the suburban streets I had to hope

that I wod vtay d a mai ot

Finding heavenIt was now 11am the sun was getting

hot I was tired from that morningrsquos com-

muter adventure and felt it would be goodto hav a ay ih I pottd a ig

that said Jimmies Guest House perfect

I would have somewhere to stay and

hopefully Jimmie could help me with a

detailed route out of the suburbs and

south towards the coast I never found

Jimmy and after an hour of following the

signs I gave up outside the gates to what

B983137983150983143983147983151983147Goodbye

Rob Halkett leaves the Thai capital amid the

sounds of car horns birdsong and ldquohey big spenderrdquo

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looked like an expensive resort I didnrsquot

care if it cost $1000 a night I just want-

ed off the bike It turned out to be much

cheaper than I thought and would be

the perfect place for an overnight Once

again I was given a small private bunga-

low overlooking a lake The rest of that af-

ternoon was absolute bliss as I watched

birds and other wildlife on the lake

from the comfort of my private balcony

Karaoke contestantsI met the resortrsquos other guests at dinner a

group of pensioners from northern Thai-

land who had traveled down to Bang-kok to perform in a karaoke competition

Karaoke is huge here and every bar or

club and restaurant no matter how big or

small has a karaoke machine Everyone

is welcome to pick up the microphone

and sing I was used to listening to peo-

ple who canrsquot sing perform songs that

should never have been written At din-

ner I listened to ldquomy wayrdquo ldquosomewhere

over the rainbowrdquo ldquosend in the clownsrdquo

and other classic songs from the 50s and

60s sung in Thai it was the most bizarre

evening The group who were all great

fun had brought a professional karaoke

instructor with them and he was busy all

night teaching the contestants how to

sing each song They had noticed that

there was a foreigner in the restaurant

listening to them and clapping at the end

of each song and they were determinedto get me on the stage Fortunately we

cod d othig i egih o th ma-

chine although that was partly my fault

as I had told him to key into the machine

songs by System of a down or Metallica

I went to bed that evening to the sound

of ldquoHey Big Spenderrdquo sung in ThaiBT

For Rob Halkett there is no better way to seethe world than from a bicycle saddle You

can read more stories from his world biketrip at wwwrobsbikeridecom

Photo PAul JeurIssen

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INTERVIEW

Q If you could come back and

ride anywhere in France where

would you go

A evywh

Q And where would you avoid

A Th otkit of Mai

Q Yoursquove cycled all over the

world ndash how does France rate

when you compare it to all the

other exotic destinations yoursquove

written about

A It vy co to th top of th it

Q In your early days you man-

aged to convince lots of non-cy-

cling friends to undertake some

pretty long rides with you Doyou have any advice for cyclists

who have reluctant partners or

friends theyrsquore trying to cajole

along for a ride

A Pg foth ito th kow ndash

its much more fun and much more

memorable than doing something safeand tedious

Q France has some great

routes for families ndash the Loire

the vineyard routes of Gironde

the greenways of Brittany

Youve got two mini-cyclists

of your own who are clock-

ing up the miles ndash whatrsquos so

great about introducing kids

to cycling

A Fdom advt ig ad

noticing things that they never would

when strapped into a vehicle enjoy-

ing life without being reliant on some

computerized gadget being outdoors in

all weathers It also makes them sleep

exceptionally well

Australian cyclist Lynette Eyb startedwwwfreewheelingfrancecom to help other

bicyclists plan their trips through France

BT

Josie Dew is the author of several popularcycling adventure books such as ldquoTheWind in My Wheels Travel Tales from the

Saddlerdquo and ldquoA Ride in the Neon Sun AGaijin in Japanrdquo For more information see

wwwjosiedewcom

ldquoFrench people like

cyclists even ones

with panniersrdquo

Q What three items canrsquot you

cycle without

A Tt to-cip ad a mii lathma

Q Any nal words of advice for

people thinking about cycling in

France

A Tat with xtm catio th biq-

ito igpot that poit TOuTes

DIreCTIOns How ca yo go i a

directions at once especially when its

pointing in the opposite direction from

the one you want to go

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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BENJAMIN JACOBwwwglobecyclersde

China

Image Roadthe

from

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8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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FABIAN NAWRATH

wwwafricabybikede

Uganda Image Roadthe

from

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8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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PAUL JEURISSENwwwpauljeurissennl

India

Image Roadthe

from

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8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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Not being able to go pee barefoot

in the middle of the nightrdquo Aicia ua wwwrodadasnet

ldquoMy WardrobeEvery girl should have more

than 3 sets of clothes to choose from

H loyd httphelenstakeoncom

ldquoNadda nil nix zippo zilch zip

lotta Hdo wwwskalatitudecom

Longing for

My kitchen - as a hungry cyclist

I dream about itrdquoTom Kevill-Davies wwwhungrycyclistcom

ldquoThe comfort of my own toilet

Dennis Koomen

wwwtoko-op-etsvakantienl

Facebook as I do not take a

smartphone on my tripsrdquoDirk van Hulle

wwwfacebookcomdirkvanhulle

Monday morning tube ride into

lodorsquo rat racrdquoHenry Brydon wwwtheblazingsaddlescom

rdquo

ldquo

rdquo

rdquo

rdquo

rdquo

Twitt - it i difct to cyc ad twtrdquoSimon Stewart wwwsilk-wheelscom

Sitting on the coach watchingmovies with my familyrdquoDustin Orrick wwwwork2ridecom

Clearly marked prices when shoppingrdquoFred Spengler

wwwcrazyguyonabikecomonrbikes

ldquoShoes that donrsquot go ldquoclick clickrdquo

when you walk

Guy Moodie wwwabikejourneycom

ldquoNot having to put on

frozen shoes in the morningThoma riy

wwwaroundtheworldforwatercouk

Anything that casts a shadow

resting in the shaderdquoDavid Gregory wwwboomersonbikescom

ldquo A loud stereo - to drown out the sound

of big trucks and noisy carsDave Conroy wwwtiredotca

What do cyclists miss on their trips

ldquoChairman Meowthe coolest cat in Canada

Mike Boles httpmikeonbikewordpresscom

ldquoKnowing the name of the place Irsquom

headed to when asked where Irsquom going

emma Phipott wwwrolling-talescom

Photo PAul JeurIssen

rdquo

rdquo

rdquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

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SPEEDSTERS By STEVE FABES

COLUMN

Chances are you have met one Phap yo v a o Had ow back amot hoizota max-

imum two panniers and eyes scanning the trailing asphalt ner-

voy taig tig gac at th odomt Itrsquo th spdt

The

During my journey Irsquove

met many cyclists striving

to ride the length of Africa

in just four months many

others are chasing world

records and several orga-

nized tours have sproutedup in recent years making

The Speedster as ubiqui-

tous in this world as drunk

British nineteen year olds on Gap Years

This entity seems to exist only on

busy highways and dreary uninspir-

ing parts of the world never on rough

roads never in those wild placesWhen we do cross paths the conver-

sation follows a predictable pattern

often beginning with ldquoSo how many ki-

lometres have you comerdquo Followed

swiftly by ldquoAnd how long did that takerdquo

Cue furrowed brow mental arithmetic

is in progress as The Speedster tries to

calculate exactly how many more kilome-

tres they cover per month than you do

Itrsquos a shame that wersquove entered an era

of fast and furious bike adventures I canrsquot

help but wonder whether

people are forgetting what

for me is the ultimate high

of traveling by bicycle - the

slow transition The bicycle

is simply one of the best

mediums to explore a coun-try in detail As one place

slowly merges with another

bicycle travelers watch the

world evolve Why race through To see

a lot but to experience little By setting a

time limit you beef up the challenge but

acic omthig that to m at at i

far more important - the adventure Thetimes I have felt most alive have been

on those dusty tracks at the very edge of

civilization The times Irsquove relished more

than any other have been when Irsquove tak-

en up offers of hospitality from local peo-

ple offers which I presume would often

be declined by the speed freaks all in the

name of a few more miles before sunset

Phap Irsquom vgig o big o of

those conceited know-it-alls the type of

irritating traveler who seems convinced

P h o t o S T E

V E F A B E S

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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Dr Steve Fabes aims to cycle the length ofthe 6 continents while raising money for the

UK health charity Merlin You can followSteve at wwwcyclingthe6blogspotcom

CONTRIBUTORSthey are exploring the world in a superior

way than most but why not take more

time to look around Constantly dwell-

ing on distance and on time and on the

future means you forget to be surprised

by the present Why not resist always

taking the shortest or the easiest path

loop a ptti tha taight i

Shrug off that addiction to asphalt Take

time to banter with passersby and every

once in a while take a detour through a

town or village just because it has a fun-

ny sounding name on the map

And to The Speedsters out there I

have a few suggestions to make life eas-ier First off - a urinary catheter to oblit-

erate the need for all those time wast-

ing toilet stops A straw into your mouth

connected to a huge hat containing car-

bo-rich liquidized mush the kind of stuff

NASA gives to its astronauts And lastly

a tiny video camera on the handlebars

recording everything that occurs outsideyo twty dg via d That way

if something interesting happens to your

left or right therersquos no need to turn your

had catig dag ad acicig v-

locity Just watch it on tape afterwards in

the comfort of your own home whilst you

tell your friends and family how amazing

the experience was although you wishthat puncture on the N2 hadnacutet dented

your November average And next time

we meet - have some empathy please

Wersquore not all like you so letrsquos not talk in

numbers Tell me a good story insteadBT

AALDRIK MULDER

ALICIA URREA

ALVARO NEIL

AMAYA WILLIAMS

ANDREW MORGAN

ANDREW SYKES

BENJAMIN JACOB

DAVE CONROY

DAVID GREGORY

DAVID PIPER

DEAN CLEMENTSON

DENNIS KOOMEN

DIRK VAN HULLE

DUSTIN ORRICK

ED BRABANDER

EMMA PHILPOTT

FABIAN NAWRATH

FEARGHAL ONUALLAIN

FRED SPENGLER

FRIEDEL GRANT

GUY MOODIE

HANNA MI JAKOBSON

HARRY WAGENAAR

HELEN LLOYD

HENRIK RISAGER

HENRY BRYDON

JACK MOORE

JANYIS WATSON

JARED MITCHELL

JOSIE DEW

KATIE TIBBETTS

LEONARDO CORRADINI

LIZ WILTON

LORETTA HENDERSON

LYNETTE EYB

MARC FREEDMAN

MIKE BOLES

MIRJAM WOUTERS

PAUL JEURISSEN

RACHEL HUGENS

ROB HALKETT

ROB LUCAS

RUDI VERHAGEN

SCOTT STOLL

SHANE LITTLE

SIMON STEWART

STEVE FABES

THOMAS RILEY

TOM KEVILL-DAVIES

TYLER KELLEN

WILLEM MEGENS

rciv a SHOW IT book

with your FREE subscription to

Bicycle Traveler magazinewwwbicycletravelernl

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3636

Photo FEARGHAL Orsquo NUALLAIN

TravelerBicycle

Parting shot

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STORIES

E QUIPMENT

hoto Left PAUL JEURISSEN

over Photo ED BRABANDER httpmembershomenledmyrthe

CONTENTS

C OLUMN

P HOTOGRAPHY

INTERVIEW

BicycleTraveler

QUOTES

20

THE SPEEDSTERS By Steve Fabes34

TRUCKER TRACES By Andrew Morgan08

CALIFORNIAN BEAUTY By Hanna Mi Jakobson

22

PHOTO STORY - ICELAND By Willem Megens amp Rudi Verhagen14

TEST WALKSTOOL COMFORT By Tyler Kellen12

TRIP GEAR By Grace Johnson10

26 IMAGE FROM THE ROAD - CHINA By Benjamin Jacob

24 JOSIE DEW - C YCLING THROUGH FRANCE By Lynette Eyb

38 PARTING SHOT -BOLIVIA By Fearghal OrsquoNuallain

06

28 IMAGE FROM THE ROAD - UGANDA By Fabian Nawrath

TEST ORTLIEB FOLDING BOWL By Friedel Grant 13

32 WHAT DO C YCLISTS MISS ON THEIR TRIPS By Various Authors

THE ROAD By Fearghal OrsquoNuallain

GOODBYE BANGKOK By Rob Halkett

30 IMAGE FROM THE ROAD - INDIA By Paul Jeurissen

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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Bicycle Traveler is copyright

Grace Johnson All material has

been used with permission and is

copyright original sources

Th atic pbihd ct th

opinions of their respective authors

and are not necessarily

those of the editor

COPYRIGHT

CONTACT

infobicycletravelernl

DISCLAIMER

Grace Johns

W w ovwhmd by th thiatic po to o t i of Bicyc

Traveler ndash 15000 downloads Then again maybe we shouldnrsquot be surprisedBicycle travelers are passionate about exploring the world and enjoy reading the ad-

ventures of others

Yet who is a bicycle traveler Is it someone who races around the world May-

be not according to this editionrsquos columnist Steve Fabes (p34) Irishman Fearghal

OrsquoNuallain writes about missing ldquothe roadrdquo (p6) but do cyclists long for the same

things when they are on it It turns out what they miss (p32) is as varied as the coun-

tries they travel through

From the editor

EDITOR

Grace Johnson

P h o t o s P A

U L J E U R I S S E N

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Someday all of this will come to an end the sleep-

ing rough chiseled calves calloused arse tak-

ing 8 hours of exercise a day wearing the same

clothes for two weeks straight having an interesting topic

for conversation worrying about incline gradient and

road surfaces eating like a horse being able to eat a

horse not knowing the name of the town Irsquom in forgetting

the name of the person Irsquom spending the night with cy-cling another twenty km till lunch to save 50 cents living

out of a waterproof bag in a steel trailer saying Irlanda

30 times a day saying nononnietnine not Hollandahellip

Irrrrrrlanda assessing the quality of a book by its size

and weight as well as its content wondering why anyone

would ever wear clothes that are not waterproofbreath-

ablequick dryinglightthermal

Someday Irsquoll be home Irsquoll have a fridge a cooker a

shower a cupboard and a bed Irsquoll be able to close a door

and be by myself talk to people in complex English with

an Irish accent using colloquialisms slang and very spe-

cic Aa Patidg fc Irsquo b ab to gt ot of my

bed and not have to pack it away and go to bed without

waiting for darkness or asking some onersquos permission Irsquoll

hav to gt p at a pcic tim ad do tak that om-

one else dictates Irsquoll have a phone and a set of keys

Someday my life will be normal again and uninterest-ing and Irsquoll probably miss my stop on the train because I

was daydreaming about when I lived on a special simple

world called the road

Road

The

- Fearghal ONuallain

Fearghal and Simon Evans are the rst Irish cyclists tocircumnavigate the globe You can read their trip reports athttprevolutioncycleie

P h o t o P A u l J e

u r I s s e n

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Truckers who traverse the long

barren stretches of desert tarmac

in Chilersquos Atacama Desert do so

much like male dogs canvassing city

blocksndashthey leavehellipuhhhellipbits of them-selveshellipeverywhere they go

Itrsquos impossible to take in an Atacama

viewndashthe scattered black moon rocks

the bone-colored sand dunes the moun-

tains that look as if theyrsquove been ripped

straight out of a Dali landscapendashwithout

oticig th cffd haf-d pa-

tic bottles as well Theyrsquore everywhere (sometimes one can be spotted every

100 yad) ad thyrsquo a d with th

am thig p

Thatrsquos right

P fok

The driest place on Earth is turning

out to be not such a dry a place after all

Itrsquos saturated almost with the urine ofpassing truckers

Thankfully truckers in this part of the

world create urine in hundreds of shades

of solely yellow and orange all hues that

blend nicely with the shifting shades of

the Atacamarsquos sands I have not once

spotted a bottle of the tell-tale bright

green urine of a daily-multi-vitamin-tak-

er Nor have I seen a container weighed

down with the dark brown amber pee of

a Coca-Cola-junkie I donrsquot know what

these drivers are eating and drinking but

whatever it is itrsquos stuff that keeps their

pee Atacama-colored

The problem rests with the plastic

bottles They give the place the feelingof a toilet bowl raised to the power of

two tah ca P th tadim aft

a soccer match minus 10 redwoods In

the middle of the desert in the center of

what should be one of the worldrsquos most

unique arid human-less places I see

liquid traces of lazy men (Irsquom making an

assumption here I know but I think itrsquos a

af o Oy m div ad p at th

same time) Instead of natural nothing-

ness Irsquom seeing lots of human stuff-nessI mt admit thogh sig a of

these bottles of trucker pee all over the

place has inspired my mind to delve into

areas of thought into which it never dared

venture before These are some of the

things I think about when I pass bottle

aft bott of Atacama tck p

1 How in the world do these guys

manage to pee into such small bottles

ad div at th am tim ray how

They must I assume carry (and hopefully

Trucker TracesStory amp Photo ANDREW MORGAN

Cyclist Andrew Morgan discovers that the Atacama desert isnrsquot completely dry

ldquoThatrsquos right

Pee folksrdquo

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wash every once in a while) funnels

2 Wow that one was incredibly

orange I never in my life have seen that

shade of orange before in pee or any-

where else I wonder if that guyrsquos OK

3 That bottle is so full it clearly has

been used many many times In between

uses for a few weeks where does he

to it I a cp hod ud hi at

4 If Chilean energy drink companies

were smart (are there any Chilean en-

ergy drink companies) they would send

scientists out into the desert to collect

samples from as many bottles of truck-

er pee as possible From the samplestheyrsquod be able to tell what nutrients and

other stuff truckers are lacking in their di-

t Pttig th thig ito a pcica-

ly-designed-for-truckers drink would cre-

ate a hit product one with an uncanny

ability to leave truckers feeling refreshed

5 Hy coondashomo d a mo-

ade bottle with pee that looks exactly likelemonade I mean

exactly Hmmmmhellip

actual lyhellipmaybe

itrsquos just a big bottle

of lemonade that

someone couldnrsquot

ih Wod it b

too risky to openthe thing and smell

it to see if maybe

it is lemonade and

maybe maybe I

could drink it Hmm-

mm Hmmmm Yes

Too iky Dity

6 uggggh I hat

seeing all of this

trash everywhere

If I wa Pidt

Read about Andrew Morganrsquos year-and-a-half long ride through the Americas at

wwwTeacherontwowheelscom A bookabout his trip is due out in 2012

BT

of Chile Irsquod create a pee-bottle recycling

program complete with incentives and

all For each ounce of pee you brought to

a recycling center yoursquod get some sort of

food A piece of carrot cake Or a donut

Not a drink of course but food

If you are a Chilean trucker please for

the love of the two or three animals that

call the Atacama home and all the tourists

all 10 of them who ride bicycles across

it each year please donrsquot throw bottles

of pee out your window while you drive

Stop get out of the truck take a breath

of fresh air and pee into the sand like ev-

eryone else

Thank you Gracias

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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TRIP GEAR

Escaping the dark winter months by

touring Morocco or Mexico is fun but

gttig bt aft yo t day

of cycling isnrsquot Scape is a waterproof

sweat proof sunscreen which will not

rub off and run into your eyes It also

ha th hight uVA potctio of a

sunscreens on the market

Price $1499 US

wwwscapelabscom

Advanced Sunscreen

Th Motai Hadwa utalamia

32 sleeping bag weighs just 1 lb15 oz

(870 gr) and packs down to approximately6 inches (17 cm) long It is designed for

damp cool conditions and is rated to 37

degrees F (3 C)

Price $190 US

Synthetic Sleeping Bag

Sololite One Person TentThe Wild Country Sololite is an inex-

pensive all-season solo tent It weighs

4 lb 35 oz (less than 2 kg) and is over

7 feet (220 cm) long

Price $17849 US

wwwterra-novacouk

A look at equipment for bicycle travelersBy GRACE JOHNSON

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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The Scrubr is a synthetic scouring pad

for cleaning your cooking gear Itrsquos

lightweight odor resistant and drips dry

in minutes The makers of Scrubr write

ldquoWe developed it because we weretired of having to throw away stinky

sponges after one camping triprdquo

Price $275 US

httplunatecgearcom

Scrubr Scouring Pad

Many Asian countries are full of cheaphotels so itrsquos tempting to leave your

camping gear at home Still if you become

stranded a cold night in the open can be

extremely uncomfortable An alternative

i to cay th sOl emgcy Bivy Itrsquo

made from the same material as space

bakt which ct 90 of yo body

heat back to youThe bag packs smalland weighs 38 oz (107 gr)

Price $50 US

wwwadventuremedicalkitscom

Emergency Bivy Bag

TrendyDigitalrsquos SplashGuard case is a

padded pouch with a protective screen

Itrsquos also resistant to water and dust You

can operate the keyboard and naviga-

tion button of your Kindle right through

the case It weighs 45 oz (128 gr) and

the company also makes protective

ca fo th iPad

Price $1599 US

httptrendydigitalcom

Kindle Protection

EQUIPMENT

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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Amonth before we left on our round

the world trip I began thinking ldquowhat

are we going to sit onrdquo After talking it

over with Tara (my wife) we decided our

requirements for a chair were (in order

of impotac) compact iz comfot-

able to sit in and (hopefully) very light

I started at the tip of the camp seatingiceberg by looking what Id used during

a my ai famiy campig tip tho

foldable chairs movie directors are sup-

posed to sit in I found big ones comi-

cally small ones wooden ones steel

ones aluminum ones and countless oth-

er variations before realizing the solution

had to lay elsewhere Delving deeper Idiscovered a dizzying array of options

including hundreds of folding chairs a

weird collapsible sling we tried it it was

awful) chairs with more moving parts

tha a ca ad ay gttig co ot

of th ggd o that md to t

the bill except they were all rather large

Once Id decided that a three leggedchair had the most potential I started

looking for one with telescoping legs I

knew it had to exist It took a lot of hunt-

ing but I eventually found the Swedish

made Walkstool and it had everything

w watd ma coapd iz vy

comfortable seating and thanks to its

amim cotctio ight wight O

of the things I like most about the Walk-

stool is that you can sit on it when the

legs arent extended the perfect height

for working on the drivetrain of your bi-

cycle or preparing dinner on the ground

After six months of use and abuse they

look brand new and work just as well as

they day they arrived at our doorstep I

oy hav o gativ thig to pot

they need better advertising

Walkstool Comfort

WALKSTOOL COMFORT

HEIGHT 18 IN (45 CM)

FOLDED LENGTH 11 IN (28 CM)

WEIGHT 26 OZ (725 GR)

MAXIMUM LOAD 440 LBS (200 KG)

By TYLER KELLEN

Tyler Kellen amp Tara Alan spent two yearscycling around the world Their websitewwwgoingslowlycom is the scrapbook of

their adventures together

GEAR REVIEWS

For further information on the Walkstool

Comfort see wwwwalkstoolcom

BT

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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EQUIPMENT

S

ometimes itrsquos hard to separate the

important accessories from the friv-

olous ones when choosing what to take

on a tour For a long time we put Ort-

liebrsquos 10 litre folding bowl in the sec-

ond category We couldnrsquot imagine why

we needed one

It wasnrsquot until we met a couple with not

one but two folding bowls on tour that we

reconsidered our decisionSince then the

bowl (which comes in 5 litre and 20 litre siz-es as well) has been one of our most reg-

ularly used items What do we use it for

Doig lady sik a oft with-

out plugs or if yoursquore camping you may

not have access to a sink at all The bowl

is great for doing laundry in and you can

fold it together with the clothes inside to

help squeeze out excess waterCoctig wat fo tig W gt

a large amount of water together in the

bow to t ito o bott wh wrsquo

in places where we canrsquot trust the water

showig u th bow to cay v-

erything you need for your shower back

and forth between the bathrooms and

the tent If yoursquore wild camping you canalso use the bowl to collect water from a

stream or river for a bucket shower

Washing Dishes Throw them all in

with a little dish soap and you have an

instant sink or just use the bowl to carry

everything to the washing area

Cleaning Food You can throw large

quantities of vegetables in the bowl to

be washed We use ours a lot for salad

leaves which are too bulky to clean in

our saucepans You can also use the

Ortlieb 10 Litre Folding BowlBy FRIEDEL GRANT

Friedel amp Andrew Grantrsquos extensive website

wwwtravellingtwocom contains their tripreports resources for bicycle travelers andthe e-book ldquoBike Touring Survival Guiderdquo

bowl as an extra serving dish We often

make and dress our salads directly in it

Itrsquos hard to think of a day where we

donrsquot use our Ortlieb Bowl When it isnrsquot

being put to work it folds up into a tri-

angle and sits on top of our camping

mattresses which lie across Friedelrsquos

two back panniers So howrsquos it holding

up After 2 years of constant use our

bowl is showing some signs of wear but

nothing that stops us using it as we wantto The sides are a little saggy but it still

maintains the bowl shape A small hole

did develop in the bottom along the fold

lines of the bowl but we patched it with

our puncture repair kit and havenrsquot had a

problem since

ORTLIEB 10 LITRE FOLDING BOWLWEIGHT 92 OZ (260 GR)

BT

For more information on the folding bowl

see wwwortliebde

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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IcelandWillem Megens and Rudi Verhagen experienceIcelandrsquos dramatic landscape as they cycle

around the Vatnajoumlkull glacierPhotos WILLEM MEGENS amp RUDI VERHAGEN

PHOTO STORY

Photo WILLEM MEGENS

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8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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Watching icebergs drift by at Joumlkulsaacuterloacuten

Photo RUDI VERHAGEN

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8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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65

4

3

2

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1 The turquoise lake of Kraa

2 Rudi relaxes at Stafafell campsite

3 Willem crosses the Syri Oacutefael river

4 Church near Uljoacutetsvatn

5 Loose sand on the jeep track to

Hviacutetaacuternes lake 6 Curious locals

Willem and Rudi love bicycletouring since it gives them a sense

of freedom and satisfactionYou can see more of their photos

at httpthemeegnl

Photo cdit 2 4 5 Wim Mg

1 3 6 rdi Vhag

1

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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Southern California is a blend of

the athentic and the aticia

The natural landscape continu-

ously shifts between green hills rugged

cliffs and sandy dunes One reoccur-

ring feature is the golf course I imagine

the golf players live in the ritzy and rich

neighborhoods that I passed on the way

such as Monterey with all its grand vil-

las protected by high walls and Malibursquos

fenced in fancy houses that occupy en-

tire beaches I did not go behind those

glamorous facades but outside of them I

met several genuine generous and gor-geous people

As I bicycled past the high walls and

private beaches the Big Sur coast ap-

peared in all its simple beauty The luxury

life sometimes drove by me in the shape

of fast cars that looked like bat-mobiles

and suV the ength of imoine sti

I cycled on with the help of the wind Itpushed me up the high hills and treated

me with splendid views from the top be-

fore blowing me back down to sea level

The scenery was spectacular with water-

falls plunging into the ocean waves that

invited me in for a salty bath and camp

grounds with the star lit sky as the only

light source

Californiarsquos animals are full of charac-

ter Cute and clever raccoons ran their

nightly raids in search of food around my

tent During the day frisky squirrels jumped

in the ed and azy eephant ea took

naps on the beach The city animals

have had a make-over to match the de-

signer handbags that they sit in Spoiled

pets were pampered in cat-spas in glitzy

lo Angee and ate gazed dog bicit

from the bakeries of wealthy Carmel In

the beach town of Solana pet owners

could even book a consultation for advice

on reducing the climate change impact

of their animalrsquos high carbon lifestyle

All of the pets and people who peek out

from a fashionable handbag gaze over aprotective wall watch through their bat-

mobile car window or look beyond the

aticia andcape of a gof coe can

still enjoy the true beauty of California

the coast For me it was amazing to see

eappeaing view of the Pacic Ocean It

was there next to the Santa Barbara col-

lege house that I stayed in It was thereas I stretched my calves and thighs after

climbing the Big Sur hills It was there as

I hng ot by the kateboad pak at Ven-

ice Beach It was there as I dried in the

sun after a swim near San Diego and it

will continue to be by my side as I start

cycling through the beauty of Mexico

C A L I F O R N I A N

B E A U T Y

You can follow Hanna Mi Jakobsonrsquosfurther trans-American travels atwwwhannamijakobsoncom

Swedish journalist Hanna Mi Jakobson cycled

the Californian coast in search of new views

BT

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P h o t o s H A

N N A M I J A K O B S O N

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As I had been staying in northern

Bangkok it meant that I had to

ride through the city center and

out the other side when it was time to go

I hoped that by leaving at 630am I would

miss all the early morning commuter traf-

c How wog cod I b Fom th mo-ment I left the safety of the hotel car park

I wa attackd by tafc ev with a

my bicycle lights blazing the drivers still

couldnrsquot see me at one point I thought it

might be safer if I turned the lights off be-

cause then at least they wouldnrsquot know

what to aim for During that ride through

the city horns blared all around me andcars driven by madmen desperate to get

to work inched passed me

Cycling manners At t I wa a poit a I cod poi-

bly be lsquorsquocome on guys take your time and

give me a bit of room here after all we

are in this togetherrsquorsquo after about half an

hour of this politeness I managed to get

the sentence down to a couple of choice

words and hand gestures that are under-

stood in most countries Finally after three

hours of madness I managed to reach

the city outskirts and I was completely

lost Following my compass south witha map that was not detailed enough to

show the suburban streets I had to hope

that I wod vtay d a mai ot

Finding heavenIt was now 11am the sun was getting

hot I was tired from that morningrsquos com-

muter adventure and felt it would be goodto hav a ay ih I pottd a ig

that said Jimmies Guest House perfect

I would have somewhere to stay and

hopefully Jimmie could help me with a

detailed route out of the suburbs and

south towards the coast I never found

Jimmy and after an hour of following the

signs I gave up outside the gates to what

B983137983150983143983147983151983147Goodbye

Rob Halkett leaves the Thai capital amid the

sounds of car horns birdsong and ldquohey big spenderrdquo

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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looked like an expensive resort I didnrsquot

care if it cost $1000 a night I just want-

ed off the bike It turned out to be much

cheaper than I thought and would be

the perfect place for an overnight Once

again I was given a small private bunga-

low overlooking a lake The rest of that af-

ternoon was absolute bliss as I watched

birds and other wildlife on the lake

from the comfort of my private balcony

Karaoke contestantsI met the resortrsquos other guests at dinner a

group of pensioners from northern Thai-

land who had traveled down to Bang-kok to perform in a karaoke competition

Karaoke is huge here and every bar or

club and restaurant no matter how big or

small has a karaoke machine Everyone

is welcome to pick up the microphone

and sing I was used to listening to peo-

ple who canrsquot sing perform songs that

should never have been written At din-

ner I listened to ldquomy wayrdquo ldquosomewhere

over the rainbowrdquo ldquosend in the clownsrdquo

and other classic songs from the 50s and

60s sung in Thai it was the most bizarre

evening The group who were all great

fun had brought a professional karaoke

instructor with them and he was busy all

night teaching the contestants how to

sing each song They had noticed that

there was a foreigner in the restaurant

listening to them and clapping at the end

of each song and they were determinedto get me on the stage Fortunately we

cod d othig i egih o th ma-

chine although that was partly my fault

as I had told him to key into the machine

songs by System of a down or Metallica

I went to bed that evening to the sound

of ldquoHey Big Spenderrdquo sung in ThaiBT

For Rob Halkett there is no better way to seethe world than from a bicycle saddle You

can read more stories from his world biketrip at wwwrobsbikeridecom

Photo PAul JeurIssen

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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INTERVIEW

Q If you could come back and

ride anywhere in France where

would you go

A evywh

Q And where would you avoid

A Th otkit of Mai

Q Yoursquove cycled all over the

world ndash how does France rate

when you compare it to all the

other exotic destinations yoursquove

written about

A It vy co to th top of th it

Q In your early days you man-

aged to convince lots of non-cy-

cling friends to undertake some

pretty long rides with you Doyou have any advice for cyclists

who have reluctant partners or

friends theyrsquore trying to cajole

along for a ride

A Pg foth ito th kow ndash

its much more fun and much more

memorable than doing something safeand tedious

Q France has some great

routes for families ndash the Loire

the vineyard routes of Gironde

the greenways of Brittany

Youve got two mini-cyclists

of your own who are clock-

ing up the miles ndash whatrsquos so

great about introducing kids

to cycling

A Fdom advt ig ad

noticing things that they never would

when strapped into a vehicle enjoy-

ing life without being reliant on some

computerized gadget being outdoors in

all weathers It also makes them sleep

exceptionally well

Australian cyclist Lynette Eyb startedwwwfreewheelingfrancecom to help other

bicyclists plan their trips through France

BT

Josie Dew is the author of several popularcycling adventure books such as ldquoTheWind in My Wheels Travel Tales from the

Saddlerdquo and ldquoA Ride in the Neon Sun AGaijin in Japanrdquo For more information see

wwwjosiedewcom

ldquoFrench people like

cyclists even ones

with panniersrdquo

Q What three items canrsquot you

cycle without

A Tt to-cip ad a mii lathma

Q Any nal words of advice for

people thinking about cycling in

France

A Tat with xtm catio th biq-

ito igpot that poit TOuTes

DIreCTIOns How ca yo go i a

directions at once especially when its

pointing in the opposite direction from

the one you want to go

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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BENJAMIN JACOBwwwglobecyclersde

China

Image Roadthe

from

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8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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FABIAN NAWRATH

wwwafricabybikede

Uganda Image Roadthe

from

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3036WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL - JANUARY 201230

PAUL JEURISSENwwwpauljeurissennl

India

Image Roadthe

from

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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Not being able to go pee barefoot

in the middle of the nightrdquo Aicia ua wwwrodadasnet

ldquoMy WardrobeEvery girl should have more

than 3 sets of clothes to choose from

H loyd httphelenstakeoncom

ldquoNadda nil nix zippo zilch zip

lotta Hdo wwwskalatitudecom

Longing for

My kitchen - as a hungry cyclist

I dream about itrdquoTom Kevill-Davies wwwhungrycyclistcom

ldquoThe comfort of my own toilet

Dennis Koomen

wwwtoko-op-etsvakantienl

Facebook as I do not take a

smartphone on my tripsrdquoDirk van Hulle

wwwfacebookcomdirkvanhulle

Monday morning tube ride into

lodorsquo rat racrdquoHenry Brydon wwwtheblazingsaddlescom

rdquo

ldquo

rdquo

rdquo

rdquo

rdquo

Twitt - it i difct to cyc ad twtrdquoSimon Stewart wwwsilk-wheelscom

Sitting on the coach watchingmovies with my familyrdquoDustin Orrick wwwwork2ridecom

Clearly marked prices when shoppingrdquoFred Spengler

wwwcrazyguyonabikecomonrbikes

ldquoShoes that donrsquot go ldquoclick clickrdquo

when you walk

Guy Moodie wwwabikejourneycom

ldquoNot having to put on

frozen shoes in the morningThoma riy

wwwaroundtheworldforwatercouk

Anything that casts a shadow

resting in the shaderdquoDavid Gregory wwwboomersonbikescom

ldquo A loud stereo - to drown out the sound

of big trucks and noisy carsDave Conroy wwwtiredotca

What do cyclists miss on their trips

ldquoChairman Meowthe coolest cat in Canada

Mike Boles httpmikeonbikewordpresscom

ldquoKnowing the name of the place Irsquom

headed to when asked where Irsquom going

emma Phipott wwwrolling-talescom

Photo PAul JeurIssen

rdquo

rdquo

rdquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

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8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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SPEEDSTERS By STEVE FABES

COLUMN

Chances are you have met one Phap yo v a o Had ow back amot hoizota max-

imum two panniers and eyes scanning the trailing asphalt ner-

voy taig tig gac at th odomt Itrsquo th spdt

The

During my journey Irsquove

met many cyclists striving

to ride the length of Africa

in just four months many

others are chasing world

records and several orga-

nized tours have sproutedup in recent years making

The Speedster as ubiqui-

tous in this world as drunk

British nineteen year olds on Gap Years

This entity seems to exist only on

busy highways and dreary uninspir-

ing parts of the world never on rough

roads never in those wild placesWhen we do cross paths the conver-

sation follows a predictable pattern

often beginning with ldquoSo how many ki-

lometres have you comerdquo Followed

swiftly by ldquoAnd how long did that takerdquo

Cue furrowed brow mental arithmetic

is in progress as The Speedster tries to

calculate exactly how many more kilome-

tres they cover per month than you do

Itrsquos a shame that wersquove entered an era

of fast and furious bike adventures I canrsquot

help but wonder whether

people are forgetting what

for me is the ultimate high

of traveling by bicycle - the

slow transition The bicycle

is simply one of the best

mediums to explore a coun-try in detail As one place

slowly merges with another

bicycle travelers watch the

world evolve Why race through To see

a lot but to experience little By setting a

time limit you beef up the challenge but

acic omthig that to m at at i

far more important - the adventure Thetimes I have felt most alive have been

on those dusty tracks at the very edge of

civilization The times Irsquove relished more

than any other have been when Irsquove tak-

en up offers of hospitality from local peo-

ple offers which I presume would often

be declined by the speed freaks all in the

name of a few more miles before sunset

Phap Irsquom vgig o big o of

those conceited know-it-alls the type of

irritating traveler who seems convinced

P h o t o S T E

V E F A B E S

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Dr Steve Fabes aims to cycle the length ofthe 6 continents while raising money for the

UK health charity Merlin You can followSteve at wwwcyclingthe6blogspotcom

CONTRIBUTORSthey are exploring the world in a superior

way than most but why not take more

time to look around Constantly dwell-

ing on distance and on time and on the

future means you forget to be surprised

by the present Why not resist always

taking the shortest or the easiest path

loop a ptti tha taight i

Shrug off that addiction to asphalt Take

time to banter with passersby and every

once in a while take a detour through a

town or village just because it has a fun-

ny sounding name on the map

And to The Speedsters out there I

have a few suggestions to make life eas-ier First off - a urinary catheter to oblit-

erate the need for all those time wast-

ing toilet stops A straw into your mouth

connected to a huge hat containing car-

bo-rich liquidized mush the kind of stuff

NASA gives to its astronauts And lastly

a tiny video camera on the handlebars

recording everything that occurs outsideyo twty dg via d That way

if something interesting happens to your

left or right therersquos no need to turn your

had catig dag ad acicig v-

locity Just watch it on tape afterwards in

the comfort of your own home whilst you

tell your friends and family how amazing

the experience was although you wishthat puncture on the N2 hadnacutet dented

your November average And next time

we meet - have some empathy please

Wersquore not all like you so letrsquos not talk in

numbers Tell me a good story insteadBT

AALDRIK MULDER

ALICIA URREA

ALVARO NEIL

AMAYA WILLIAMS

ANDREW MORGAN

ANDREW SYKES

BENJAMIN JACOB

DAVE CONROY

DAVID GREGORY

DAVID PIPER

DEAN CLEMENTSON

DENNIS KOOMEN

DIRK VAN HULLE

DUSTIN ORRICK

ED BRABANDER

EMMA PHILPOTT

FABIAN NAWRATH

FEARGHAL ONUALLAIN

FRED SPENGLER

FRIEDEL GRANT

GUY MOODIE

HANNA MI JAKOBSON

HARRY WAGENAAR

HELEN LLOYD

HENRIK RISAGER

HENRY BRYDON

JACK MOORE

JANYIS WATSON

JARED MITCHELL

JOSIE DEW

KATIE TIBBETTS

LEONARDO CORRADINI

LIZ WILTON

LORETTA HENDERSON

LYNETTE EYB

MARC FREEDMAN

MIKE BOLES

MIRJAM WOUTERS

PAUL JEURISSEN

RACHEL HUGENS

ROB HALKETT

ROB LUCAS

RUDI VERHAGEN

SCOTT STOLL

SHANE LITTLE

SIMON STEWART

STEVE FABES

THOMAS RILEY

TOM KEVILL-DAVIES

TYLER KELLEN

WILLEM MEGENS

rciv a SHOW IT book

with your FREE subscription to

Bicycle Traveler magazinewwwbicycletravelernl

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3636

Photo FEARGHAL Orsquo NUALLAIN

TravelerBicycle

Parting shot

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STORIES

E QUIPMENT

hoto Left PAUL JEURISSEN

over Photo ED BRABANDER httpmembershomenledmyrthe

CONTENTS

C OLUMN

P HOTOGRAPHY

INTERVIEW

BicycleTraveler

QUOTES

20

THE SPEEDSTERS By Steve Fabes34

TRUCKER TRACES By Andrew Morgan08

CALIFORNIAN BEAUTY By Hanna Mi Jakobson

22

PHOTO STORY - ICELAND By Willem Megens amp Rudi Verhagen14

TEST WALKSTOOL COMFORT By Tyler Kellen12

TRIP GEAR By Grace Johnson10

26 IMAGE FROM THE ROAD - CHINA By Benjamin Jacob

24 JOSIE DEW - C YCLING THROUGH FRANCE By Lynette Eyb

38 PARTING SHOT -BOLIVIA By Fearghal OrsquoNuallain

06

28 IMAGE FROM THE ROAD - UGANDA By Fabian Nawrath

TEST ORTLIEB FOLDING BOWL By Friedel Grant 13

32 WHAT DO C YCLISTS MISS ON THEIR TRIPS By Various Authors

THE ROAD By Fearghal OrsquoNuallain

GOODBYE BANGKOK By Rob Halkett

30 IMAGE FROM THE ROAD - INDIA By Paul Jeurissen

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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Bicycle Traveler is copyright

Grace Johnson All material has

been used with permission and is

copyright original sources

Th atic pbihd ct th

opinions of their respective authors

and are not necessarily

those of the editor

COPYRIGHT

CONTACT

infobicycletravelernl

DISCLAIMER

Grace Johns

W w ovwhmd by th thiatic po to o t i of Bicyc

Traveler ndash 15000 downloads Then again maybe we shouldnrsquot be surprisedBicycle travelers are passionate about exploring the world and enjoy reading the ad-

ventures of others

Yet who is a bicycle traveler Is it someone who races around the world May-

be not according to this editionrsquos columnist Steve Fabes (p34) Irishman Fearghal

OrsquoNuallain writes about missing ldquothe roadrdquo (p6) but do cyclists long for the same

things when they are on it It turns out what they miss (p32) is as varied as the coun-

tries they travel through

From the editor

EDITOR

Grace Johnson

P h o t o s P A

U L J E U R I S S E N

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Someday all of this will come to an end the sleep-

ing rough chiseled calves calloused arse tak-

ing 8 hours of exercise a day wearing the same

clothes for two weeks straight having an interesting topic

for conversation worrying about incline gradient and

road surfaces eating like a horse being able to eat a

horse not knowing the name of the town Irsquom in forgetting

the name of the person Irsquom spending the night with cy-cling another twenty km till lunch to save 50 cents living

out of a waterproof bag in a steel trailer saying Irlanda

30 times a day saying nononnietnine not Hollandahellip

Irrrrrrlanda assessing the quality of a book by its size

and weight as well as its content wondering why anyone

would ever wear clothes that are not waterproofbreath-

ablequick dryinglightthermal

Someday Irsquoll be home Irsquoll have a fridge a cooker a

shower a cupboard and a bed Irsquoll be able to close a door

and be by myself talk to people in complex English with

an Irish accent using colloquialisms slang and very spe-

cic Aa Patidg fc Irsquo b ab to gt ot of my

bed and not have to pack it away and go to bed without

waiting for darkness or asking some onersquos permission Irsquoll

hav to gt p at a pcic tim ad do tak that om-

one else dictates Irsquoll have a phone and a set of keys

Someday my life will be normal again and uninterest-ing and Irsquoll probably miss my stop on the train because I

was daydreaming about when I lived on a special simple

world called the road

Road

The

- Fearghal ONuallain

Fearghal and Simon Evans are the rst Irish cyclists tocircumnavigate the globe You can read their trip reports athttprevolutioncycleie

P h o t o P A u l J e

u r I s s e n

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Truckers who traverse the long

barren stretches of desert tarmac

in Chilersquos Atacama Desert do so

much like male dogs canvassing city

blocksndashthey leavehellipuhhhellipbits of them-selveshellipeverywhere they go

Itrsquos impossible to take in an Atacama

viewndashthe scattered black moon rocks

the bone-colored sand dunes the moun-

tains that look as if theyrsquove been ripped

straight out of a Dali landscapendashwithout

oticig th cffd haf-d pa-

tic bottles as well Theyrsquore everywhere (sometimes one can be spotted every

100 yad) ad thyrsquo a d with th

am thig p

Thatrsquos right

P fok

The driest place on Earth is turning

out to be not such a dry a place after all

Itrsquos saturated almost with the urine ofpassing truckers

Thankfully truckers in this part of the

world create urine in hundreds of shades

of solely yellow and orange all hues that

blend nicely with the shifting shades of

the Atacamarsquos sands I have not once

spotted a bottle of the tell-tale bright

green urine of a daily-multi-vitamin-tak-

er Nor have I seen a container weighed

down with the dark brown amber pee of

a Coca-Cola-junkie I donrsquot know what

these drivers are eating and drinking but

whatever it is itrsquos stuff that keeps their

pee Atacama-colored

The problem rests with the plastic

bottles They give the place the feelingof a toilet bowl raised to the power of

two tah ca P th tadim aft

a soccer match minus 10 redwoods In

the middle of the desert in the center of

what should be one of the worldrsquos most

unique arid human-less places I see

liquid traces of lazy men (Irsquom making an

assumption here I know but I think itrsquos a

af o Oy m div ad p at th

same time) Instead of natural nothing-

ness Irsquom seeing lots of human stuff-nessI mt admit thogh sig a of

these bottles of trucker pee all over the

place has inspired my mind to delve into

areas of thought into which it never dared

venture before These are some of the

things I think about when I pass bottle

aft bott of Atacama tck p

1 How in the world do these guys

manage to pee into such small bottles

ad div at th am tim ray how

They must I assume carry (and hopefully

Trucker TracesStory amp Photo ANDREW MORGAN

Cyclist Andrew Morgan discovers that the Atacama desert isnrsquot completely dry

ldquoThatrsquos right

Pee folksrdquo

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wash every once in a while) funnels

2 Wow that one was incredibly

orange I never in my life have seen that

shade of orange before in pee or any-

where else I wonder if that guyrsquos OK

3 That bottle is so full it clearly has

been used many many times In between

uses for a few weeks where does he

to it I a cp hod ud hi at

4 If Chilean energy drink companies

were smart (are there any Chilean en-

ergy drink companies) they would send

scientists out into the desert to collect

samples from as many bottles of truck-

er pee as possible From the samplestheyrsquod be able to tell what nutrients and

other stuff truckers are lacking in their di-

t Pttig th thig ito a pcica-

ly-designed-for-truckers drink would cre-

ate a hit product one with an uncanny

ability to leave truckers feeling refreshed

5 Hy coondashomo d a mo-

ade bottle with pee that looks exactly likelemonade I mean

exactly Hmmmmhellip

actual lyhellipmaybe

itrsquos just a big bottle

of lemonade that

someone couldnrsquot

ih Wod it b

too risky to openthe thing and smell

it to see if maybe

it is lemonade and

maybe maybe I

could drink it Hmm-

mm Hmmmm Yes

Too iky Dity

6 uggggh I hat

seeing all of this

trash everywhere

If I wa Pidt

Read about Andrew Morganrsquos year-and-a-half long ride through the Americas at

wwwTeacherontwowheelscom A bookabout his trip is due out in 2012

BT

of Chile Irsquod create a pee-bottle recycling

program complete with incentives and

all For each ounce of pee you brought to

a recycling center yoursquod get some sort of

food A piece of carrot cake Or a donut

Not a drink of course but food

If you are a Chilean trucker please for

the love of the two or three animals that

call the Atacama home and all the tourists

all 10 of them who ride bicycles across

it each year please donrsquot throw bottles

of pee out your window while you drive

Stop get out of the truck take a breath

of fresh air and pee into the sand like ev-

eryone else

Thank you Gracias

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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TRIP GEAR

Escaping the dark winter months by

touring Morocco or Mexico is fun but

gttig bt aft yo t day

of cycling isnrsquot Scape is a waterproof

sweat proof sunscreen which will not

rub off and run into your eyes It also

ha th hight uVA potctio of a

sunscreens on the market

Price $1499 US

wwwscapelabscom

Advanced Sunscreen

Th Motai Hadwa utalamia

32 sleeping bag weighs just 1 lb15 oz

(870 gr) and packs down to approximately6 inches (17 cm) long It is designed for

damp cool conditions and is rated to 37

degrees F (3 C)

Price $190 US

Synthetic Sleeping Bag

Sololite One Person TentThe Wild Country Sololite is an inex-

pensive all-season solo tent It weighs

4 lb 35 oz (less than 2 kg) and is over

7 feet (220 cm) long

Price $17849 US

wwwterra-novacouk

A look at equipment for bicycle travelersBy GRACE JOHNSON

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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The Scrubr is a synthetic scouring pad

for cleaning your cooking gear Itrsquos

lightweight odor resistant and drips dry

in minutes The makers of Scrubr write

ldquoWe developed it because we weretired of having to throw away stinky

sponges after one camping triprdquo

Price $275 US

httplunatecgearcom

Scrubr Scouring Pad

Many Asian countries are full of cheaphotels so itrsquos tempting to leave your

camping gear at home Still if you become

stranded a cold night in the open can be

extremely uncomfortable An alternative

i to cay th sOl emgcy Bivy Itrsquo

made from the same material as space

bakt which ct 90 of yo body

heat back to youThe bag packs smalland weighs 38 oz (107 gr)

Price $50 US

wwwadventuremedicalkitscom

Emergency Bivy Bag

TrendyDigitalrsquos SplashGuard case is a

padded pouch with a protective screen

Itrsquos also resistant to water and dust You

can operate the keyboard and naviga-

tion button of your Kindle right through

the case It weighs 45 oz (128 gr) and

the company also makes protective

ca fo th iPad

Price $1599 US

httptrendydigitalcom

Kindle Protection

EQUIPMENT

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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Amonth before we left on our round

the world trip I began thinking ldquowhat

are we going to sit onrdquo After talking it

over with Tara (my wife) we decided our

requirements for a chair were (in order

of impotac) compact iz comfot-

able to sit in and (hopefully) very light

I started at the tip of the camp seatingiceberg by looking what Id used during

a my ai famiy campig tip tho

foldable chairs movie directors are sup-

posed to sit in I found big ones comi-

cally small ones wooden ones steel

ones aluminum ones and countless oth-

er variations before realizing the solution

had to lay elsewhere Delving deeper Idiscovered a dizzying array of options

including hundreds of folding chairs a

weird collapsible sling we tried it it was

awful) chairs with more moving parts

tha a ca ad ay gttig co ot

of th ggd o that md to t

the bill except they were all rather large

Once Id decided that a three leggedchair had the most potential I started

looking for one with telescoping legs I

knew it had to exist It took a lot of hunt-

ing but I eventually found the Swedish

made Walkstool and it had everything

w watd ma coapd iz vy

comfortable seating and thanks to its

amim cotctio ight wight O

of the things I like most about the Walk-

stool is that you can sit on it when the

legs arent extended the perfect height

for working on the drivetrain of your bi-

cycle or preparing dinner on the ground

After six months of use and abuse they

look brand new and work just as well as

they day they arrived at our doorstep I

oy hav o gativ thig to pot

they need better advertising

Walkstool Comfort

WALKSTOOL COMFORT

HEIGHT 18 IN (45 CM)

FOLDED LENGTH 11 IN (28 CM)

WEIGHT 26 OZ (725 GR)

MAXIMUM LOAD 440 LBS (200 KG)

By TYLER KELLEN

Tyler Kellen amp Tara Alan spent two yearscycling around the world Their websitewwwgoingslowlycom is the scrapbook of

their adventures together

GEAR REVIEWS

For further information on the Walkstool

Comfort see wwwwalkstoolcom

BT

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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EQUIPMENT

S

ometimes itrsquos hard to separate the

important accessories from the friv-

olous ones when choosing what to take

on a tour For a long time we put Ort-

liebrsquos 10 litre folding bowl in the sec-

ond category We couldnrsquot imagine why

we needed one

It wasnrsquot until we met a couple with not

one but two folding bowls on tour that we

reconsidered our decisionSince then the

bowl (which comes in 5 litre and 20 litre siz-es as well) has been one of our most reg-

ularly used items What do we use it for

Doig lady sik a oft with-

out plugs or if yoursquore camping you may

not have access to a sink at all The bowl

is great for doing laundry in and you can

fold it together with the clothes inside to

help squeeze out excess waterCoctig wat fo tig W gt

a large amount of water together in the

bow to t ito o bott wh wrsquo

in places where we canrsquot trust the water

showig u th bow to cay v-

erything you need for your shower back

and forth between the bathrooms and

the tent If yoursquore wild camping you canalso use the bowl to collect water from a

stream or river for a bucket shower

Washing Dishes Throw them all in

with a little dish soap and you have an

instant sink or just use the bowl to carry

everything to the washing area

Cleaning Food You can throw large

quantities of vegetables in the bowl to

be washed We use ours a lot for salad

leaves which are too bulky to clean in

our saucepans You can also use the

Ortlieb 10 Litre Folding BowlBy FRIEDEL GRANT

Friedel amp Andrew Grantrsquos extensive website

wwwtravellingtwocom contains their tripreports resources for bicycle travelers andthe e-book ldquoBike Touring Survival Guiderdquo

bowl as an extra serving dish We often

make and dress our salads directly in it

Itrsquos hard to think of a day where we

donrsquot use our Ortlieb Bowl When it isnrsquot

being put to work it folds up into a tri-

angle and sits on top of our camping

mattresses which lie across Friedelrsquos

two back panniers So howrsquos it holding

up After 2 years of constant use our

bowl is showing some signs of wear but

nothing that stops us using it as we wantto The sides are a little saggy but it still

maintains the bowl shape A small hole

did develop in the bottom along the fold

lines of the bowl but we patched it with

our puncture repair kit and havenrsquot had a

problem since

ORTLIEB 10 LITRE FOLDING BOWLWEIGHT 92 OZ (260 GR)

BT

For more information on the folding bowl

see wwwortliebde

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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IcelandWillem Megens and Rudi Verhagen experienceIcelandrsquos dramatic landscape as they cycle

around the Vatnajoumlkull glacierPhotos WILLEM MEGENS amp RUDI VERHAGEN

PHOTO STORY

Photo WILLEM MEGENS

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8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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Watching icebergs drift by at Joumlkulsaacuterloacuten

Photo RUDI VERHAGEN

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8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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65

4

3

2

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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1 The turquoise lake of Kraa

2 Rudi relaxes at Stafafell campsite

3 Willem crosses the Syri Oacutefael river

4 Church near Uljoacutetsvatn

5 Loose sand on the jeep track to

Hviacutetaacuternes lake 6 Curious locals

Willem and Rudi love bicycletouring since it gives them a sense

of freedom and satisfactionYou can see more of their photos

at httpthemeegnl

Photo cdit 2 4 5 Wim Mg

1 3 6 rdi Vhag

1

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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Southern California is a blend of

the athentic and the aticia

The natural landscape continu-

ously shifts between green hills rugged

cliffs and sandy dunes One reoccur-

ring feature is the golf course I imagine

the golf players live in the ritzy and rich

neighborhoods that I passed on the way

such as Monterey with all its grand vil-

las protected by high walls and Malibursquos

fenced in fancy houses that occupy en-

tire beaches I did not go behind those

glamorous facades but outside of them I

met several genuine generous and gor-geous people

As I bicycled past the high walls and

private beaches the Big Sur coast ap-

peared in all its simple beauty The luxury

life sometimes drove by me in the shape

of fast cars that looked like bat-mobiles

and suV the ength of imoine sti

I cycled on with the help of the wind Itpushed me up the high hills and treated

me with splendid views from the top be-

fore blowing me back down to sea level

The scenery was spectacular with water-

falls plunging into the ocean waves that

invited me in for a salty bath and camp

grounds with the star lit sky as the only

light source

Californiarsquos animals are full of charac-

ter Cute and clever raccoons ran their

nightly raids in search of food around my

tent During the day frisky squirrels jumped

in the ed and azy eephant ea took

naps on the beach The city animals

have had a make-over to match the de-

signer handbags that they sit in Spoiled

pets were pampered in cat-spas in glitzy

lo Angee and ate gazed dog bicit

from the bakeries of wealthy Carmel In

the beach town of Solana pet owners

could even book a consultation for advice

on reducing the climate change impact

of their animalrsquos high carbon lifestyle

All of the pets and people who peek out

from a fashionable handbag gaze over aprotective wall watch through their bat-

mobile car window or look beyond the

aticia andcape of a gof coe can

still enjoy the true beauty of California

the coast For me it was amazing to see

eappeaing view of the Pacic Ocean It

was there next to the Santa Barbara col-

lege house that I stayed in It was thereas I stretched my calves and thighs after

climbing the Big Sur hills It was there as

I hng ot by the kateboad pak at Ven-

ice Beach It was there as I dried in the

sun after a swim near San Diego and it

will continue to be by my side as I start

cycling through the beauty of Mexico

C A L I F O R N I A N

B E A U T Y

You can follow Hanna Mi Jakobsonrsquosfurther trans-American travels atwwwhannamijakobsoncom

Swedish journalist Hanna Mi Jakobson cycled

the Californian coast in search of new views

BT

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P h o t o s H A

N N A M I J A K O B S O N

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As I had been staying in northern

Bangkok it meant that I had to

ride through the city center and

out the other side when it was time to go

I hoped that by leaving at 630am I would

miss all the early morning commuter traf-

c How wog cod I b Fom th mo-ment I left the safety of the hotel car park

I wa attackd by tafc ev with a

my bicycle lights blazing the drivers still

couldnrsquot see me at one point I thought it

might be safer if I turned the lights off be-

cause then at least they wouldnrsquot know

what to aim for During that ride through

the city horns blared all around me andcars driven by madmen desperate to get

to work inched passed me

Cycling manners At t I wa a poit a I cod poi-

bly be lsquorsquocome on guys take your time and

give me a bit of room here after all we

are in this togetherrsquorsquo after about half an

hour of this politeness I managed to get

the sentence down to a couple of choice

words and hand gestures that are under-

stood in most countries Finally after three

hours of madness I managed to reach

the city outskirts and I was completely

lost Following my compass south witha map that was not detailed enough to

show the suburban streets I had to hope

that I wod vtay d a mai ot

Finding heavenIt was now 11am the sun was getting

hot I was tired from that morningrsquos com-

muter adventure and felt it would be goodto hav a ay ih I pottd a ig

that said Jimmies Guest House perfect

I would have somewhere to stay and

hopefully Jimmie could help me with a

detailed route out of the suburbs and

south towards the coast I never found

Jimmy and after an hour of following the

signs I gave up outside the gates to what

B983137983150983143983147983151983147Goodbye

Rob Halkett leaves the Thai capital amid the

sounds of car horns birdsong and ldquohey big spenderrdquo

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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looked like an expensive resort I didnrsquot

care if it cost $1000 a night I just want-

ed off the bike It turned out to be much

cheaper than I thought and would be

the perfect place for an overnight Once

again I was given a small private bunga-

low overlooking a lake The rest of that af-

ternoon was absolute bliss as I watched

birds and other wildlife on the lake

from the comfort of my private balcony

Karaoke contestantsI met the resortrsquos other guests at dinner a

group of pensioners from northern Thai-

land who had traveled down to Bang-kok to perform in a karaoke competition

Karaoke is huge here and every bar or

club and restaurant no matter how big or

small has a karaoke machine Everyone

is welcome to pick up the microphone

and sing I was used to listening to peo-

ple who canrsquot sing perform songs that

should never have been written At din-

ner I listened to ldquomy wayrdquo ldquosomewhere

over the rainbowrdquo ldquosend in the clownsrdquo

and other classic songs from the 50s and

60s sung in Thai it was the most bizarre

evening The group who were all great

fun had brought a professional karaoke

instructor with them and he was busy all

night teaching the contestants how to

sing each song They had noticed that

there was a foreigner in the restaurant

listening to them and clapping at the end

of each song and they were determinedto get me on the stage Fortunately we

cod d othig i egih o th ma-

chine although that was partly my fault

as I had told him to key into the machine

songs by System of a down or Metallica

I went to bed that evening to the sound

of ldquoHey Big Spenderrdquo sung in ThaiBT

For Rob Halkett there is no better way to seethe world than from a bicycle saddle You

can read more stories from his world biketrip at wwwrobsbikeridecom

Photo PAul JeurIssen

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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INTERVIEW

Q If you could come back and

ride anywhere in France where

would you go

A evywh

Q And where would you avoid

A Th otkit of Mai

Q Yoursquove cycled all over the

world ndash how does France rate

when you compare it to all the

other exotic destinations yoursquove

written about

A It vy co to th top of th it

Q In your early days you man-

aged to convince lots of non-cy-

cling friends to undertake some

pretty long rides with you Doyou have any advice for cyclists

who have reluctant partners or

friends theyrsquore trying to cajole

along for a ride

A Pg foth ito th kow ndash

its much more fun and much more

memorable than doing something safeand tedious

Q France has some great

routes for families ndash the Loire

the vineyard routes of Gironde

the greenways of Brittany

Youve got two mini-cyclists

of your own who are clock-

ing up the miles ndash whatrsquos so

great about introducing kids

to cycling

A Fdom advt ig ad

noticing things that they never would

when strapped into a vehicle enjoy-

ing life without being reliant on some

computerized gadget being outdoors in

all weathers It also makes them sleep

exceptionally well

Australian cyclist Lynette Eyb startedwwwfreewheelingfrancecom to help other

bicyclists plan their trips through France

BT

Josie Dew is the author of several popularcycling adventure books such as ldquoTheWind in My Wheels Travel Tales from the

Saddlerdquo and ldquoA Ride in the Neon Sun AGaijin in Japanrdquo For more information see

wwwjosiedewcom

ldquoFrench people like

cyclists even ones

with panniersrdquo

Q What three items canrsquot you

cycle without

A Tt to-cip ad a mii lathma

Q Any nal words of advice for

people thinking about cycling in

France

A Tat with xtm catio th biq-

ito igpot that poit TOuTes

DIreCTIOns How ca yo go i a

directions at once especially when its

pointing in the opposite direction from

the one you want to go

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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BENJAMIN JACOBwwwglobecyclersde

China

Image Roadthe

from

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8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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FABIAN NAWRATH

wwwafricabybikede

Uganda Image Roadthe

from

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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PAUL JEURISSENwwwpauljeurissennl

India

Image Roadthe

from

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8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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Not being able to go pee barefoot

in the middle of the nightrdquo Aicia ua wwwrodadasnet

ldquoMy WardrobeEvery girl should have more

than 3 sets of clothes to choose from

H loyd httphelenstakeoncom

ldquoNadda nil nix zippo zilch zip

lotta Hdo wwwskalatitudecom

Longing for

My kitchen - as a hungry cyclist

I dream about itrdquoTom Kevill-Davies wwwhungrycyclistcom

ldquoThe comfort of my own toilet

Dennis Koomen

wwwtoko-op-etsvakantienl

Facebook as I do not take a

smartphone on my tripsrdquoDirk van Hulle

wwwfacebookcomdirkvanhulle

Monday morning tube ride into

lodorsquo rat racrdquoHenry Brydon wwwtheblazingsaddlescom

rdquo

ldquo

rdquo

rdquo

rdquo

rdquo

Twitt - it i difct to cyc ad twtrdquoSimon Stewart wwwsilk-wheelscom

Sitting on the coach watchingmovies with my familyrdquoDustin Orrick wwwwork2ridecom

Clearly marked prices when shoppingrdquoFred Spengler

wwwcrazyguyonabikecomonrbikes

ldquoShoes that donrsquot go ldquoclick clickrdquo

when you walk

Guy Moodie wwwabikejourneycom

ldquoNot having to put on

frozen shoes in the morningThoma riy

wwwaroundtheworldforwatercouk

Anything that casts a shadow

resting in the shaderdquoDavid Gregory wwwboomersonbikescom

ldquo A loud stereo - to drown out the sound

of big trucks and noisy carsDave Conroy wwwtiredotca

What do cyclists miss on their trips

ldquoChairman Meowthe coolest cat in Canada

Mike Boles httpmikeonbikewordpresscom

ldquoKnowing the name of the place Irsquom

headed to when asked where Irsquom going

emma Phipott wwwrolling-talescom

Photo PAul JeurIssen

rdquo

rdquo

rdquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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SPEEDSTERS By STEVE FABES

COLUMN

Chances are you have met one Phap yo v a o Had ow back amot hoizota max-

imum two panniers and eyes scanning the trailing asphalt ner-

voy taig tig gac at th odomt Itrsquo th spdt

The

During my journey Irsquove

met many cyclists striving

to ride the length of Africa

in just four months many

others are chasing world

records and several orga-

nized tours have sproutedup in recent years making

The Speedster as ubiqui-

tous in this world as drunk

British nineteen year olds on Gap Years

This entity seems to exist only on

busy highways and dreary uninspir-

ing parts of the world never on rough

roads never in those wild placesWhen we do cross paths the conver-

sation follows a predictable pattern

often beginning with ldquoSo how many ki-

lometres have you comerdquo Followed

swiftly by ldquoAnd how long did that takerdquo

Cue furrowed brow mental arithmetic

is in progress as The Speedster tries to

calculate exactly how many more kilome-

tres they cover per month than you do

Itrsquos a shame that wersquove entered an era

of fast and furious bike adventures I canrsquot

help but wonder whether

people are forgetting what

for me is the ultimate high

of traveling by bicycle - the

slow transition The bicycle

is simply one of the best

mediums to explore a coun-try in detail As one place

slowly merges with another

bicycle travelers watch the

world evolve Why race through To see

a lot but to experience little By setting a

time limit you beef up the challenge but

acic omthig that to m at at i

far more important - the adventure Thetimes I have felt most alive have been

on those dusty tracks at the very edge of

civilization The times Irsquove relished more

than any other have been when Irsquove tak-

en up offers of hospitality from local peo-

ple offers which I presume would often

be declined by the speed freaks all in the

name of a few more miles before sunset

Phap Irsquom vgig o big o of

those conceited know-it-alls the type of

irritating traveler who seems convinced

P h o t o S T E

V E F A B E S

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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Dr Steve Fabes aims to cycle the length ofthe 6 continents while raising money for the

UK health charity Merlin You can followSteve at wwwcyclingthe6blogspotcom

CONTRIBUTORSthey are exploring the world in a superior

way than most but why not take more

time to look around Constantly dwell-

ing on distance and on time and on the

future means you forget to be surprised

by the present Why not resist always

taking the shortest or the easiest path

loop a ptti tha taight i

Shrug off that addiction to asphalt Take

time to banter with passersby and every

once in a while take a detour through a

town or village just because it has a fun-

ny sounding name on the map

And to The Speedsters out there I

have a few suggestions to make life eas-ier First off - a urinary catheter to oblit-

erate the need for all those time wast-

ing toilet stops A straw into your mouth

connected to a huge hat containing car-

bo-rich liquidized mush the kind of stuff

NASA gives to its astronauts And lastly

a tiny video camera on the handlebars

recording everything that occurs outsideyo twty dg via d That way

if something interesting happens to your

left or right therersquos no need to turn your

had catig dag ad acicig v-

locity Just watch it on tape afterwards in

the comfort of your own home whilst you

tell your friends and family how amazing

the experience was although you wishthat puncture on the N2 hadnacutet dented

your November average And next time

we meet - have some empathy please

Wersquore not all like you so letrsquos not talk in

numbers Tell me a good story insteadBT

AALDRIK MULDER

ALICIA URREA

ALVARO NEIL

AMAYA WILLIAMS

ANDREW MORGAN

ANDREW SYKES

BENJAMIN JACOB

DAVE CONROY

DAVID GREGORY

DAVID PIPER

DEAN CLEMENTSON

DENNIS KOOMEN

DIRK VAN HULLE

DUSTIN ORRICK

ED BRABANDER

EMMA PHILPOTT

FABIAN NAWRATH

FEARGHAL ONUALLAIN

FRED SPENGLER

FRIEDEL GRANT

GUY MOODIE

HANNA MI JAKOBSON

HARRY WAGENAAR

HELEN LLOYD

HENRIK RISAGER

HENRY BRYDON

JACK MOORE

JANYIS WATSON

JARED MITCHELL

JOSIE DEW

KATIE TIBBETTS

LEONARDO CORRADINI

LIZ WILTON

LORETTA HENDERSON

LYNETTE EYB

MARC FREEDMAN

MIKE BOLES

MIRJAM WOUTERS

PAUL JEURISSEN

RACHEL HUGENS

ROB HALKETT

ROB LUCAS

RUDI VERHAGEN

SCOTT STOLL

SHANE LITTLE

SIMON STEWART

STEVE FABES

THOMAS RILEY

TOM KEVILL-DAVIES

TYLER KELLEN

WILLEM MEGENS

rciv a SHOW IT book

with your FREE subscription to

Bicycle Traveler magazinewwwbicycletravelernl

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3636

Photo FEARGHAL Orsquo NUALLAIN

TravelerBicycle

Parting shot

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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Bicycle Traveler is copyright

Grace Johnson All material has

been used with permission and is

copyright original sources

Th atic pbihd ct th

opinions of their respective authors

and are not necessarily

those of the editor

COPYRIGHT

CONTACT

infobicycletravelernl

DISCLAIMER

Grace Johns

W w ovwhmd by th thiatic po to o t i of Bicyc

Traveler ndash 15000 downloads Then again maybe we shouldnrsquot be surprisedBicycle travelers are passionate about exploring the world and enjoy reading the ad-

ventures of others

Yet who is a bicycle traveler Is it someone who races around the world May-

be not according to this editionrsquos columnist Steve Fabes (p34) Irishman Fearghal

OrsquoNuallain writes about missing ldquothe roadrdquo (p6) but do cyclists long for the same

things when they are on it It turns out what they miss (p32) is as varied as the coun-

tries they travel through

From the editor

EDITOR

Grace Johnson

P h o t o s P A

U L J E U R I S S E N

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Someday all of this will come to an end the sleep-

ing rough chiseled calves calloused arse tak-

ing 8 hours of exercise a day wearing the same

clothes for two weeks straight having an interesting topic

for conversation worrying about incline gradient and

road surfaces eating like a horse being able to eat a

horse not knowing the name of the town Irsquom in forgetting

the name of the person Irsquom spending the night with cy-cling another twenty km till lunch to save 50 cents living

out of a waterproof bag in a steel trailer saying Irlanda

30 times a day saying nononnietnine not Hollandahellip

Irrrrrrlanda assessing the quality of a book by its size

and weight as well as its content wondering why anyone

would ever wear clothes that are not waterproofbreath-

ablequick dryinglightthermal

Someday Irsquoll be home Irsquoll have a fridge a cooker a

shower a cupboard and a bed Irsquoll be able to close a door

and be by myself talk to people in complex English with

an Irish accent using colloquialisms slang and very spe-

cic Aa Patidg fc Irsquo b ab to gt ot of my

bed and not have to pack it away and go to bed without

waiting for darkness or asking some onersquos permission Irsquoll

hav to gt p at a pcic tim ad do tak that om-

one else dictates Irsquoll have a phone and a set of keys

Someday my life will be normal again and uninterest-ing and Irsquoll probably miss my stop on the train because I

was daydreaming about when I lived on a special simple

world called the road

Road

The

- Fearghal ONuallain

Fearghal and Simon Evans are the rst Irish cyclists tocircumnavigate the globe You can read their trip reports athttprevolutioncycleie

P h o t o P A u l J e

u r I s s e n

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Truckers who traverse the long

barren stretches of desert tarmac

in Chilersquos Atacama Desert do so

much like male dogs canvassing city

blocksndashthey leavehellipuhhhellipbits of them-selveshellipeverywhere they go

Itrsquos impossible to take in an Atacama

viewndashthe scattered black moon rocks

the bone-colored sand dunes the moun-

tains that look as if theyrsquove been ripped

straight out of a Dali landscapendashwithout

oticig th cffd haf-d pa-

tic bottles as well Theyrsquore everywhere (sometimes one can be spotted every

100 yad) ad thyrsquo a d with th

am thig p

Thatrsquos right

P fok

The driest place on Earth is turning

out to be not such a dry a place after all

Itrsquos saturated almost with the urine ofpassing truckers

Thankfully truckers in this part of the

world create urine in hundreds of shades

of solely yellow and orange all hues that

blend nicely with the shifting shades of

the Atacamarsquos sands I have not once

spotted a bottle of the tell-tale bright

green urine of a daily-multi-vitamin-tak-

er Nor have I seen a container weighed

down with the dark brown amber pee of

a Coca-Cola-junkie I donrsquot know what

these drivers are eating and drinking but

whatever it is itrsquos stuff that keeps their

pee Atacama-colored

The problem rests with the plastic

bottles They give the place the feelingof a toilet bowl raised to the power of

two tah ca P th tadim aft

a soccer match minus 10 redwoods In

the middle of the desert in the center of

what should be one of the worldrsquos most

unique arid human-less places I see

liquid traces of lazy men (Irsquom making an

assumption here I know but I think itrsquos a

af o Oy m div ad p at th

same time) Instead of natural nothing-

ness Irsquom seeing lots of human stuff-nessI mt admit thogh sig a of

these bottles of trucker pee all over the

place has inspired my mind to delve into

areas of thought into which it never dared

venture before These are some of the

things I think about when I pass bottle

aft bott of Atacama tck p

1 How in the world do these guys

manage to pee into such small bottles

ad div at th am tim ray how

They must I assume carry (and hopefully

Trucker TracesStory amp Photo ANDREW MORGAN

Cyclist Andrew Morgan discovers that the Atacama desert isnrsquot completely dry

ldquoThatrsquos right

Pee folksrdquo

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wash every once in a while) funnels

2 Wow that one was incredibly

orange I never in my life have seen that

shade of orange before in pee or any-

where else I wonder if that guyrsquos OK

3 That bottle is so full it clearly has

been used many many times In between

uses for a few weeks where does he

to it I a cp hod ud hi at

4 If Chilean energy drink companies

were smart (are there any Chilean en-

ergy drink companies) they would send

scientists out into the desert to collect

samples from as many bottles of truck-

er pee as possible From the samplestheyrsquod be able to tell what nutrients and

other stuff truckers are lacking in their di-

t Pttig th thig ito a pcica-

ly-designed-for-truckers drink would cre-

ate a hit product one with an uncanny

ability to leave truckers feeling refreshed

5 Hy coondashomo d a mo-

ade bottle with pee that looks exactly likelemonade I mean

exactly Hmmmmhellip

actual lyhellipmaybe

itrsquos just a big bottle

of lemonade that

someone couldnrsquot

ih Wod it b

too risky to openthe thing and smell

it to see if maybe

it is lemonade and

maybe maybe I

could drink it Hmm-

mm Hmmmm Yes

Too iky Dity

6 uggggh I hat

seeing all of this

trash everywhere

If I wa Pidt

Read about Andrew Morganrsquos year-and-a-half long ride through the Americas at

wwwTeacherontwowheelscom A bookabout his trip is due out in 2012

BT

of Chile Irsquod create a pee-bottle recycling

program complete with incentives and

all For each ounce of pee you brought to

a recycling center yoursquod get some sort of

food A piece of carrot cake Or a donut

Not a drink of course but food

If you are a Chilean trucker please for

the love of the two or three animals that

call the Atacama home and all the tourists

all 10 of them who ride bicycles across

it each year please donrsquot throw bottles

of pee out your window while you drive

Stop get out of the truck take a breath

of fresh air and pee into the sand like ev-

eryone else

Thank you Gracias

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TRIP GEAR

Escaping the dark winter months by

touring Morocco or Mexico is fun but

gttig bt aft yo t day

of cycling isnrsquot Scape is a waterproof

sweat proof sunscreen which will not

rub off and run into your eyes It also

ha th hight uVA potctio of a

sunscreens on the market

Price $1499 US

wwwscapelabscom

Advanced Sunscreen

Th Motai Hadwa utalamia

32 sleeping bag weighs just 1 lb15 oz

(870 gr) and packs down to approximately6 inches (17 cm) long It is designed for

damp cool conditions and is rated to 37

degrees F (3 C)

Price $190 US

Synthetic Sleeping Bag

Sololite One Person TentThe Wild Country Sololite is an inex-

pensive all-season solo tent It weighs

4 lb 35 oz (less than 2 kg) and is over

7 feet (220 cm) long

Price $17849 US

wwwterra-novacouk

A look at equipment for bicycle travelersBy GRACE JOHNSON

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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The Scrubr is a synthetic scouring pad

for cleaning your cooking gear Itrsquos

lightweight odor resistant and drips dry

in minutes The makers of Scrubr write

ldquoWe developed it because we weretired of having to throw away stinky

sponges after one camping triprdquo

Price $275 US

httplunatecgearcom

Scrubr Scouring Pad

Many Asian countries are full of cheaphotels so itrsquos tempting to leave your

camping gear at home Still if you become

stranded a cold night in the open can be

extremely uncomfortable An alternative

i to cay th sOl emgcy Bivy Itrsquo

made from the same material as space

bakt which ct 90 of yo body

heat back to youThe bag packs smalland weighs 38 oz (107 gr)

Price $50 US

wwwadventuremedicalkitscom

Emergency Bivy Bag

TrendyDigitalrsquos SplashGuard case is a

padded pouch with a protective screen

Itrsquos also resistant to water and dust You

can operate the keyboard and naviga-

tion button of your Kindle right through

the case It weighs 45 oz (128 gr) and

the company also makes protective

ca fo th iPad

Price $1599 US

httptrendydigitalcom

Kindle Protection

EQUIPMENT

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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Amonth before we left on our round

the world trip I began thinking ldquowhat

are we going to sit onrdquo After talking it

over with Tara (my wife) we decided our

requirements for a chair were (in order

of impotac) compact iz comfot-

able to sit in and (hopefully) very light

I started at the tip of the camp seatingiceberg by looking what Id used during

a my ai famiy campig tip tho

foldable chairs movie directors are sup-

posed to sit in I found big ones comi-

cally small ones wooden ones steel

ones aluminum ones and countless oth-

er variations before realizing the solution

had to lay elsewhere Delving deeper Idiscovered a dizzying array of options

including hundreds of folding chairs a

weird collapsible sling we tried it it was

awful) chairs with more moving parts

tha a ca ad ay gttig co ot

of th ggd o that md to t

the bill except they were all rather large

Once Id decided that a three leggedchair had the most potential I started

looking for one with telescoping legs I

knew it had to exist It took a lot of hunt-

ing but I eventually found the Swedish

made Walkstool and it had everything

w watd ma coapd iz vy

comfortable seating and thanks to its

amim cotctio ight wight O

of the things I like most about the Walk-

stool is that you can sit on it when the

legs arent extended the perfect height

for working on the drivetrain of your bi-

cycle or preparing dinner on the ground

After six months of use and abuse they

look brand new and work just as well as

they day they arrived at our doorstep I

oy hav o gativ thig to pot

they need better advertising

Walkstool Comfort

WALKSTOOL COMFORT

HEIGHT 18 IN (45 CM)

FOLDED LENGTH 11 IN (28 CM)

WEIGHT 26 OZ (725 GR)

MAXIMUM LOAD 440 LBS (200 KG)

By TYLER KELLEN

Tyler Kellen amp Tara Alan spent two yearscycling around the world Their websitewwwgoingslowlycom is the scrapbook of

their adventures together

GEAR REVIEWS

For further information on the Walkstool

Comfort see wwwwalkstoolcom

BT

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EQUIPMENT

S

ometimes itrsquos hard to separate the

important accessories from the friv-

olous ones when choosing what to take

on a tour For a long time we put Ort-

liebrsquos 10 litre folding bowl in the sec-

ond category We couldnrsquot imagine why

we needed one

It wasnrsquot until we met a couple with not

one but two folding bowls on tour that we

reconsidered our decisionSince then the

bowl (which comes in 5 litre and 20 litre siz-es as well) has been one of our most reg-

ularly used items What do we use it for

Doig lady sik a oft with-

out plugs or if yoursquore camping you may

not have access to a sink at all The bowl

is great for doing laundry in and you can

fold it together with the clothes inside to

help squeeze out excess waterCoctig wat fo tig W gt

a large amount of water together in the

bow to t ito o bott wh wrsquo

in places where we canrsquot trust the water

showig u th bow to cay v-

erything you need for your shower back

and forth between the bathrooms and

the tent If yoursquore wild camping you canalso use the bowl to collect water from a

stream or river for a bucket shower

Washing Dishes Throw them all in

with a little dish soap and you have an

instant sink or just use the bowl to carry

everything to the washing area

Cleaning Food You can throw large

quantities of vegetables in the bowl to

be washed We use ours a lot for salad

leaves which are too bulky to clean in

our saucepans You can also use the

Ortlieb 10 Litre Folding BowlBy FRIEDEL GRANT

Friedel amp Andrew Grantrsquos extensive website

wwwtravellingtwocom contains their tripreports resources for bicycle travelers andthe e-book ldquoBike Touring Survival Guiderdquo

bowl as an extra serving dish We often

make and dress our salads directly in it

Itrsquos hard to think of a day where we

donrsquot use our Ortlieb Bowl When it isnrsquot

being put to work it folds up into a tri-

angle and sits on top of our camping

mattresses which lie across Friedelrsquos

two back panniers So howrsquos it holding

up After 2 years of constant use our

bowl is showing some signs of wear but

nothing that stops us using it as we wantto The sides are a little saggy but it still

maintains the bowl shape A small hole

did develop in the bottom along the fold

lines of the bowl but we patched it with

our puncture repair kit and havenrsquot had a

problem since

ORTLIEB 10 LITRE FOLDING BOWLWEIGHT 92 OZ (260 GR)

BT

For more information on the folding bowl

see wwwortliebde

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IcelandWillem Megens and Rudi Verhagen experienceIcelandrsquos dramatic landscape as they cycle

around the Vatnajoumlkull glacierPhotos WILLEM MEGENS amp RUDI VERHAGEN

PHOTO STORY

Photo WILLEM MEGENS

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8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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Watching icebergs drift by at Joumlkulsaacuterloacuten

Photo RUDI VERHAGEN

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8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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65

4

3

2

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1 The turquoise lake of Kraa

2 Rudi relaxes at Stafafell campsite

3 Willem crosses the Syri Oacutefael river

4 Church near Uljoacutetsvatn

5 Loose sand on the jeep track to

Hviacutetaacuternes lake 6 Curious locals

Willem and Rudi love bicycletouring since it gives them a sense

of freedom and satisfactionYou can see more of their photos

at httpthemeegnl

Photo cdit 2 4 5 Wim Mg

1 3 6 rdi Vhag

1

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Southern California is a blend of

the athentic and the aticia

The natural landscape continu-

ously shifts between green hills rugged

cliffs and sandy dunes One reoccur-

ring feature is the golf course I imagine

the golf players live in the ritzy and rich

neighborhoods that I passed on the way

such as Monterey with all its grand vil-

las protected by high walls and Malibursquos

fenced in fancy houses that occupy en-

tire beaches I did not go behind those

glamorous facades but outside of them I

met several genuine generous and gor-geous people

As I bicycled past the high walls and

private beaches the Big Sur coast ap-

peared in all its simple beauty The luxury

life sometimes drove by me in the shape

of fast cars that looked like bat-mobiles

and suV the ength of imoine sti

I cycled on with the help of the wind Itpushed me up the high hills and treated

me with splendid views from the top be-

fore blowing me back down to sea level

The scenery was spectacular with water-

falls plunging into the ocean waves that

invited me in for a salty bath and camp

grounds with the star lit sky as the only

light source

Californiarsquos animals are full of charac-

ter Cute and clever raccoons ran their

nightly raids in search of food around my

tent During the day frisky squirrels jumped

in the ed and azy eephant ea took

naps on the beach The city animals

have had a make-over to match the de-

signer handbags that they sit in Spoiled

pets were pampered in cat-spas in glitzy

lo Angee and ate gazed dog bicit

from the bakeries of wealthy Carmel In

the beach town of Solana pet owners

could even book a consultation for advice

on reducing the climate change impact

of their animalrsquos high carbon lifestyle

All of the pets and people who peek out

from a fashionable handbag gaze over aprotective wall watch through their bat-

mobile car window or look beyond the

aticia andcape of a gof coe can

still enjoy the true beauty of California

the coast For me it was amazing to see

eappeaing view of the Pacic Ocean It

was there next to the Santa Barbara col-

lege house that I stayed in It was thereas I stretched my calves and thighs after

climbing the Big Sur hills It was there as

I hng ot by the kateboad pak at Ven-

ice Beach It was there as I dried in the

sun after a swim near San Diego and it

will continue to be by my side as I start

cycling through the beauty of Mexico

C A L I F O R N I A N

B E A U T Y

You can follow Hanna Mi Jakobsonrsquosfurther trans-American travels atwwwhannamijakobsoncom

Swedish journalist Hanna Mi Jakobson cycled

the Californian coast in search of new views

BT

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P h o t o s H A

N N A M I J A K O B S O N

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As I had been staying in northern

Bangkok it meant that I had to

ride through the city center and

out the other side when it was time to go

I hoped that by leaving at 630am I would

miss all the early morning commuter traf-

c How wog cod I b Fom th mo-ment I left the safety of the hotel car park

I wa attackd by tafc ev with a

my bicycle lights blazing the drivers still

couldnrsquot see me at one point I thought it

might be safer if I turned the lights off be-

cause then at least they wouldnrsquot know

what to aim for During that ride through

the city horns blared all around me andcars driven by madmen desperate to get

to work inched passed me

Cycling manners At t I wa a poit a I cod poi-

bly be lsquorsquocome on guys take your time and

give me a bit of room here after all we

are in this togetherrsquorsquo after about half an

hour of this politeness I managed to get

the sentence down to a couple of choice

words and hand gestures that are under-

stood in most countries Finally after three

hours of madness I managed to reach

the city outskirts and I was completely

lost Following my compass south witha map that was not detailed enough to

show the suburban streets I had to hope

that I wod vtay d a mai ot

Finding heavenIt was now 11am the sun was getting

hot I was tired from that morningrsquos com-

muter adventure and felt it would be goodto hav a ay ih I pottd a ig

that said Jimmies Guest House perfect

I would have somewhere to stay and

hopefully Jimmie could help me with a

detailed route out of the suburbs and

south towards the coast I never found

Jimmy and after an hour of following the

signs I gave up outside the gates to what

B983137983150983143983147983151983147Goodbye

Rob Halkett leaves the Thai capital amid the

sounds of car horns birdsong and ldquohey big spenderrdquo

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looked like an expensive resort I didnrsquot

care if it cost $1000 a night I just want-

ed off the bike It turned out to be much

cheaper than I thought and would be

the perfect place for an overnight Once

again I was given a small private bunga-

low overlooking a lake The rest of that af-

ternoon was absolute bliss as I watched

birds and other wildlife on the lake

from the comfort of my private balcony

Karaoke contestantsI met the resortrsquos other guests at dinner a

group of pensioners from northern Thai-

land who had traveled down to Bang-kok to perform in a karaoke competition

Karaoke is huge here and every bar or

club and restaurant no matter how big or

small has a karaoke machine Everyone

is welcome to pick up the microphone

and sing I was used to listening to peo-

ple who canrsquot sing perform songs that

should never have been written At din-

ner I listened to ldquomy wayrdquo ldquosomewhere

over the rainbowrdquo ldquosend in the clownsrdquo

and other classic songs from the 50s and

60s sung in Thai it was the most bizarre

evening The group who were all great

fun had brought a professional karaoke

instructor with them and he was busy all

night teaching the contestants how to

sing each song They had noticed that

there was a foreigner in the restaurant

listening to them and clapping at the end

of each song and they were determinedto get me on the stage Fortunately we

cod d othig i egih o th ma-

chine although that was partly my fault

as I had told him to key into the machine

songs by System of a down or Metallica

I went to bed that evening to the sound

of ldquoHey Big Spenderrdquo sung in ThaiBT

For Rob Halkett there is no better way to seethe world than from a bicycle saddle You

can read more stories from his world biketrip at wwwrobsbikeridecom

Photo PAul JeurIssen

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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INTERVIEW

Q If you could come back and

ride anywhere in France where

would you go

A evywh

Q And where would you avoid

A Th otkit of Mai

Q Yoursquove cycled all over the

world ndash how does France rate

when you compare it to all the

other exotic destinations yoursquove

written about

A It vy co to th top of th it

Q In your early days you man-

aged to convince lots of non-cy-

cling friends to undertake some

pretty long rides with you Doyou have any advice for cyclists

who have reluctant partners or

friends theyrsquore trying to cajole

along for a ride

A Pg foth ito th kow ndash

its much more fun and much more

memorable than doing something safeand tedious

Q France has some great

routes for families ndash the Loire

the vineyard routes of Gironde

the greenways of Brittany

Youve got two mini-cyclists

of your own who are clock-

ing up the miles ndash whatrsquos so

great about introducing kids

to cycling

A Fdom advt ig ad

noticing things that they never would

when strapped into a vehicle enjoy-

ing life without being reliant on some

computerized gadget being outdoors in

all weathers It also makes them sleep

exceptionally well

Australian cyclist Lynette Eyb startedwwwfreewheelingfrancecom to help other

bicyclists plan their trips through France

BT

Josie Dew is the author of several popularcycling adventure books such as ldquoTheWind in My Wheels Travel Tales from the

Saddlerdquo and ldquoA Ride in the Neon Sun AGaijin in Japanrdquo For more information see

wwwjosiedewcom

ldquoFrench people like

cyclists even ones

with panniersrdquo

Q What three items canrsquot you

cycle without

A Tt to-cip ad a mii lathma

Q Any nal words of advice for

people thinking about cycling in

France

A Tat with xtm catio th biq-

ito igpot that poit TOuTes

DIreCTIOns How ca yo go i a

directions at once especially when its

pointing in the opposite direction from

the one you want to go

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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BENJAMIN JACOBwwwglobecyclersde

China

Image Roadthe

from

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8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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FABIAN NAWRATH

wwwafricabybikede

Uganda Image Roadthe

from

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8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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PAUL JEURISSENwwwpauljeurissennl

India

Image Roadthe

from

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8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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Not being able to go pee barefoot

in the middle of the nightrdquo Aicia ua wwwrodadasnet

ldquoMy WardrobeEvery girl should have more

than 3 sets of clothes to choose from

H loyd httphelenstakeoncom

ldquoNadda nil nix zippo zilch zip

lotta Hdo wwwskalatitudecom

Longing for

My kitchen - as a hungry cyclist

I dream about itrdquoTom Kevill-Davies wwwhungrycyclistcom

ldquoThe comfort of my own toilet

Dennis Koomen

wwwtoko-op-etsvakantienl

Facebook as I do not take a

smartphone on my tripsrdquoDirk van Hulle

wwwfacebookcomdirkvanhulle

Monday morning tube ride into

lodorsquo rat racrdquoHenry Brydon wwwtheblazingsaddlescom

rdquo

ldquo

rdquo

rdquo

rdquo

rdquo

Twitt - it i difct to cyc ad twtrdquoSimon Stewart wwwsilk-wheelscom

Sitting on the coach watchingmovies with my familyrdquoDustin Orrick wwwwork2ridecom

Clearly marked prices when shoppingrdquoFred Spengler

wwwcrazyguyonabikecomonrbikes

ldquoShoes that donrsquot go ldquoclick clickrdquo

when you walk

Guy Moodie wwwabikejourneycom

ldquoNot having to put on

frozen shoes in the morningThoma riy

wwwaroundtheworldforwatercouk

Anything that casts a shadow

resting in the shaderdquoDavid Gregory wwwboomersonbikescom

ldquo A loud stereo - to drown out the sound

of big trucks and noisy carsDave Conroy wwwtiredotca

What do cyclists miss on their trips

ldquoChairman Meowthe coolest cat in Canada

Mike Boles httpmikeonbikewordpresscom

ldquoKnowing the name of the place Irsquom

headed to when asked where Irsquom going

emma Phipott wwwrolling-talescom

Photo PAul JeurIssen

rdquo

rdquo

rdquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

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SPEEDSTERS By STEVE FABES

COLUMN

Chances are you have met one Phap yo v a o Had ow back amot hoizota max-

imum two panniers and eyes scanning the trailing asphalt ner-

voy taig tig gac at th odomt Itrsquo th spdt

The

During my journey Irsquove

met many cyclists striving

to ride the length of Africa

in just four months many

others are chasing world

records and several orga-

nized tours have sproutedup in recent years making

The Speedster as ubiqui-

tous in this world as drunk

British nineteen year olds on Gap Years

This entity seems to exist only on

busy highways and dreary uninspir-

ing parts of the world never on rough

roads never in those wild placesWhen we do cross paths the conver-

sation follows a predictable pattern

often beginning with ldquoSo how many ki-

lometres have you comerdquo Followed

swiftly by ldquoAnd how long did that takerdquo

Cue furrowed brow mental arithmetic

is in progress as The Speedster tries to

calculate exactly how many more kilome-

tres they cover per month than you do

Itrsquos a shame that wersquove entered an era

of fast and furious bike adventures I canrsquot

help but wonder whether

people are forgetting what

for me is the ultimate high

of traveling by bicycle - the

slow transition The bicycle

is simply one of the best

mediums to explore a coun-try in detail As one place

slowly merges with another

bicycle travelers watch the

world evolve Why race through To see

a lot but to experience little By setting a

time limit you beef up the challenge but

acic omthig that to m at at i

far more important - the adventure Thetimes I have felt most alive have been

on those dusty tracks at the very edge of

civilization The times Irsquove relished more

than any other have been when Irsquove tak-

en up offers of hospitality from local peo-

ple offers which I presume would often

be declined by the speed freaks all in the

name of a few more miles before sunset

Phap Irsquom vgig o big o of

those conceited know-it-alls the type of

irritating traveler who seems convinced

P h o t o S T E

V E F A B E S

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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Dr Steve Fabes aims to cycle the length ofthe 6 continents while raising money for the

UK health charity Merlin You can followSteve at wwwcyclingthe6blogspotcom

CONTRIBUTORSthey are exploring the world in a superior

way than most but why not take more

time to look around Constantly dwell-

ing on distance and on time and on the

future means you forget to be surprised

by the present Why not resist always

taking the shortest or the easiest path

loop a ptti tha taight i

Shrug off that addiction to asphalt Take

time to banter with passersby and every

once in a while take a detour through a

town or village just because it has a fun-

ny sounding name on the map

And to The Speedsters out there I

have a few suggestions to make life eas-ier First off - a urinary catheter to oblit-

erate the need for all those time wast-

ing toilet stops A straw into your mouth

connected to a huge hat containing car-

bo-rich liquidized mush the kind of stuff

NASA gives to its astronauts And lastly

a tiny video camera on the handlebars

recording everything that occurs outsideyo twty dg via d That way

if something interesting happens to your

left or right therersquos no need to turn your

had catig dag ad acicig v-

locity Just watch it on tape afterwards in

the comfort of your own home whilst you

tell your friends and family how amazing

the experience was although you wishthat puncture on the N2 hadnacutet dented

your November average And next time

we meet - have some empathy please

Wersquore not all like you so letrsquos not talk in

numbers Tell me a good story insteadBT

AALDRIK MULDER

ALICIA URREA

ALVARO NEIL

AMAYA WILLIAMS

ANDREW MORGAN

ANDREW SYKES

BENJAMIN JACOB

DAVE CONROY

DAVID GREGORY

DAVID PIPER

DEAN CLEMENTSON

DENNIS KOOMEN

DIRK VAN HULLE

DUSTIN ORRICK

ED BRABANDER

EMMA PHILPOTT

FABIAN NAWRATH

FEARGHAL ONUALLAIN

FRED SPENGLER

FRIEDEL GRANT

GUY MOODIE

HANNA MI JAKOBSON

HARRY WAGENAAR

HELEN LLOYD

HENRIK RISAGER

HENRY BRYDON

JACK MOORE

JANYIS WATSON

JARED MITCHELL

JOSIE DEW

KATIE TIBBETTS

LEONARDO CORRADINI

LIZ WILTON

LORETTA HENDERSON

LYNETTE EYB

MARC FREEDMAN

MIKE BOLES

MIRJAM WOUTERS

PAUL JEURISSEN

RACHEL HUGENS

ROB HALKETT

ROB LUCAS

RUDI VERHAGEN

SCOTT STOLL

SHANE LITTLE

SIMON STEWART

STEVE FABES

THOMAS RILEY

TOM KEVILL-DAVIES

TYLER KELLEN

WILLEM MEGENS

rciv a SHOW IT book

with your FREE subscription to

Bicycle Traveler magazinewwwbicycletravelernl

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3636

Photo FEARGHAL Orsquo NUALLAIN

TravelerBicycle

Parting shot

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8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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Someday all of this will come to an end the sleep-

ing rough chiseled calves calloused arse tak-

ing 8 hours of exercise a day wearing the same

clothes for two weeks straight having an interesting topic

for conversation worrying about incline gradient and

road surfaces eating like a horse being able to eat a

horse not knowing the name of the town Irsquom in forgetting

the name of the person Irsquom spending the night with cy-cling another twenty km till lunch to save 50 cents living

out of a waterproof bag in a steel trailer saying Irlanda

30 times a day saying nononnietnine not Hollandahellip

Irrrrrrlanda assessing the quality of a book by its size

and weight as well as its content wondering why anyone

would ever wear clothes that are not waterproofbreath-

ablequick dryinglightthermal

Someday Irsquoll be home Irsquoll have a fridge a cooker a

shower a cupboard and a bed Irsquoll be able to close a door

and be by myself talk to people in complex English with

an Irish accent using colloquialisms slang and very spe-

cic Aa Patidg fc Irsquo b ab to gt ot of my

bed and not have to pack it away and go to bed without

waiting for darkness or asking some onersquos permission Irsquoll

hav to gt p at a pcic tim ad do tak that om-

one else dictates Irsquoll have a phone and a set of keys

Someday my life will be normal again and uninterest-ing and Irsquoll probably miss my stop on the train because I

was daydreaming about when I lived on a special simple

world called the road

Road

The

- Fearghal ONuallain

Fearghal and Simon Evans are the rst Irish cyclists tocircumnavigate the globe You can read their trip reports athttprevolutioncycleie

P h o t o P A u l J e

u r I s s e n

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8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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Truckers who traverse the long

barren stretches of desert tarmac

in Chilersquos Atacama Desert do so

much like male dogs canvassing city

blocksndashthey leavehellipuhhhellipbits of them-selveshellipeverywhere they go

Itrsquos impossible to take in an Atacama

viewndashthe scattered black moon rocks

the bone-colored sand dunes the moun-

tains that look as if theyrsquove been ripped

straight out of a Dali landscapendashwithout

oticig th cffd haf-d pa-

tic bottles as well Theyrsquore everywhere (sometimes one can be spotted every

100 yad) ad thyrsquo a d with th

am thig p

Thatrsquos right

P fok

The driest place on Earth is turning

out to be not such a dry a place after all

Itrsquos saturated almost with the urine ofpassing truckers

Thankfully truckers in this part of the

world create urine in hundreds of shades

of solely yellow and orange all hues that

blend nicely with the shifting shades of

the Atacamarsquos sands I have not once

spotted a bottle of the tell-tale bright

green urine of a daily-multi-vitamin-tak-

er Nor have I seen a container weighed

down with the dark brown amber pee of

a Coca-Cola-junkie I donrsquot know what

these drivers are eating and drinking but

whatever it is itrsquos stuff that keeps their

pee Atacama-colored

The problem rests with the plastic

bottles They give the place the feelingof a toilet bowl raised to the power of

two tah ca P th tadim aft

a soccer match minus 10 redwoods In

the middle of the desert in the center of

what should be one of the worldrsquos most

unique arid human-less places I see

liquid traces of lazy men (Irsquom making an

assumption here I know but I think itrsquos a

af o Oy m div ad p at th

same time) Instead of natural nothing-

ness Irsquom seeing lots of human stuff-nessI mt admit thogh sig a of

these bottles of trucker pee all over the

place has inspired my mind to delve into

areas of thought into which it never dared

venture before These are some of the

things I think about when I pass bottle

aft bott of Atacama tck p

1 How in the world do these guys

manage to pee into such small bottles

ad div at th am tim ray how

They must I assume carry (and hopefully

Trucker TracesStory amp Photo ANDREW MORGAN

Cyclist Andrew Morgan discovers that the Atacama desert isnrsquot completely dry

ldquoThatrsquos right

Pee folksrdquo

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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wash every once in a while) funnels

2 Wow that one was incredibly

orange I never in my life have seen that

shade of orange before in pee or any-

where else I wonder if that guyrsquos OK

3 That bottle is so full it clearly has

been used many many times In between

uses for a few weeks where does he

to it I a cp hod ud hi at

4 If Chilean energy drink companies

were smart (are there any Chilean en-

ergy drink companies) they would send

scientists out into the desert to collect

samples from as many bottles of truck-

er pee as possible From the samplestheyrsquod be able to tell what nutrients and

other stuff truckers are lacking in their di-

t Pttig th thig ito a pcica-

ly-designed-for-truckers drink would cre-

ate a hit product one with an uncanny

ability to leave truckers feeling refreshed

5 Hy coondashomo d a mo-

ade bottle with pee that looks exactly likelemonade I mean

exactly Hmmmmhellip

actual lyhellipmaybe

itrsquos just a big bottle

of lemonade that

someone couldnrsquot

ih Wod it b

too risky to openthe thing and smell

it to see if maybe

it is lemonade and

maybe maybe I

could drink it Hmm-

mm Hmmmm Yes

Too iky Dity

6 uggggh I hat

seeing all of this

trash everywhere

If I wa Pidt

Read about Andrew Morganrsquos year-and-a-half long ride through the Americas at

wwwTeacherontwowheelscom A bookabout his trip is due out in 2012

BT

of Chile Irsquod create a pee-bottle recycling

program complete with incentives and

all For each ounce of pee you brought to

a recycling center yoursquod get some sort of

food A piece of carrot cake Or a donut

Not a drink of course but food

If you are a Chilean trucker please for

the love of the two or three animals that

call the Atacama home and all the tourists

all 10 of them who ride bicycles across

it each year please donrsquot throw bottles

of pee out your window while you drive

Stop get out of the truck take a breath

of fresh air and pee into the sand like ev-

eryone else

Thank you Gracias

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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TRIP GEAR

Escaping the dark winter months by

touring Morocco or Mexico is fun but

gttig bt aft yo t day

of cycling isnrsquot Scape is a waterproof

sweat proof sunscreen which will not

rub off and run into your eyes It also

ha th hight uVA potctio of a

sunscreens on the market

Price $1499 US

wwwscapelabscom

Advanced Sunscreen

Th Motai Hadwa utalamia

32 sleeping bag weighs just 1 lb15 oz

(870 gr) and packs down to approximately6 inches (17 cm) long It is designed for

damp cool conditions and is rated to 37

degrees F (3 C)

Price $190 US

Synthetic Sleeping Bag

Sololite One Person TentThe Wild Country Sololite is an inex-

pensive all-season solo tent It weighs

4 lb 35 oz (less than 2 kg) and is over

7 feet (220 cm) long

Price $17849 US

wwwterra-novacouk

A look at equipment for bicycle travelersBy GRACE JOHNSON

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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The Scrubr is a synthetic scouring pad

for cleaning your cooking gear Itrsquos

lightweight odor resistant and drips dry

in minutes The makers of Scrubr write

ldquoWe developed it because we weretired of having to throw away stinky

sponges after one camping triprdquo

Price $275 US

httplunatecgearcom

Scrubr Scouring Pad

Many Asian countries are full of cheaphotels so itrsquos tempting to leave your

camping gear at home Still if you become

stranded a cold night in the open can be

extremely uncomfortable An alternative

i to cay th sOl emgcy Bivy Itrsquo

made from the same material as space

bakt which ct 90 of yo body

heat back to youThe bag packs smalland weighs 38 oz (107 gr)

Price $50 US

wwwadventuremedicalkitscom

Emergency Bivy Bag

TrendyDigitalrsquos SplashGuard case is a

padded pouch with a protective screen

Itrsquos also resistant to water and dust You

can operate the keyboard and naviga-

tion button of your Kindle right through

the case It weighs 45 oz (128 gr) and

the company also makes protective

ca fo th iPad

Price $1599 US

httptrendydigitalcom

Kindle Protection

EQUIPMENT

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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Amonth before we left on our round

the world trip I began thinking ldquowhat

are we going to sit onrdquo After talking it

over with Tara (my wife) we decided our

requirements for a chair were (in order

of impotac) compact iz comfot-

able to sit in and (hopefully) very light

I started at the tip of the camp seatingiceberg by looking what Id used during

a my ai famiy campig tip tho

foldable chairs movie directors are sup-

posed to sit in I found big ones comi-

cally small ones wooden ones steel

ones aluminum ones and countless oth-

er variations before realizing the solution

had to lay elsewhere Delving deeper Idiscovered a dizzying array of options

including hundreds of folding chairs a

weird collapsible sling we tried it it was

awful) chairs with more moving parts

tha a ca ad ay gttig co ot

of th ggd o that md to t

the bill except they were all rather large

Once Id decided that a three leggedchair had the most potential I started

looking for one with telescoping legs I

knew it had to exist It took a lot of hunt-

ing but I eventually found the Swedish

made Walkstool and it had everything

w watd ma coapd iz vy

comfortable seating and thanks to its

amim cotctio ight wight O

of the things I like most about the Walk-

stool is that you can sit on it when the

legs arent extended the perfect height

for working on the drivetrain of your bi-

cycle or preparing dinner on the ground

After six months of use and abuse they

look brand new and work just as well as

they day they arrived at our doorstep I

oy hav o gativ thig to pot

they need better advertising

Walkstool Comfort

WALKSTOOL COMFORT

HEIGHT 18 IN (45 CM)

FOLDED LENGTH 11 IN (28 CM)

WEIGHT 26 OZ (725 GR)

MAXIMUM LOAD 440 LBS (200 KG)

By TYLER KELLEN

Tyler Kellen amp Tara Alan spent two yearscycling around the world Their websitewwwgoingslowlycom is the scrapbook of

their adventures together

GEAR REVIEWS

For further information on the Walkstool

Comfort see wwwwalkstoolcom

BT

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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EQUIPMENT

S

ometimes itrsquos hard to separate the

important accessories from the friv-

olous ones when choosing what to take

on a tour For a long time we put Ort-

liebrsquos 10 litre folding bowl in the sec-

ond category We couldnrsquot imagine why

we needed one

It wasnrsquot until we met a couple with not

one but two folding bowls on tour that we

reconsidered our decisionSince then the

bowl (which comes in 5 litre and 20 litre siz-es as well) has been one of our most reg-

ularly used items What do we use it for

Doig lady sik a oft with-

out plugs or if yoursquore camping you may

not have access to a sink at all The bowl

is great for doing laundry in and you can

fold it together with the clothes inside to

help squeeze out excess waterCoctig wat fo tig W gt

a large amount of water together in the

bow to t ito o bott wh wrsquo

in places where we canrsquot trust the water

showig u th bow to cay v-

erything you need for your shower back

and forth between the bathrooms and

the tent If yoursquore wild camping you canalso use the bowl to collect water from a

stream or river for a bucket shower

Washing Dishes Throw them all in

with a little dish soap and you have an

instant sink or just use the bowl to carry

everything to the washing area

Cleaning Food You can throw large

quantities of vegetables in the bowl to

be washed We use ours a lot for salad

leaves which are too bulky to clean in

our saucepans You can also use the

Ortlieb 10 Litre Folding BowlBy FRIEDEL GRANT

Friedel amp Andrew Grantrsquos extensive website

wwwtravellingtwocom contains their tripreports resources for bicycle travelers andthe e-book ldquoBike Touring Survival Guiderdquo

bowl as an extra serving dish We often

make and dress our salads directly in it

Itrsquos hard to think of a day where we

donrsquot use our Ortlieb Bowl When it isnrsquot

being put to work it folds up into a tri-

angle and sits on top of our camping

mattresses which lie across Friedelrsquos

two back panniers So howrsquos it holding

up After 2 years of constant use our

bowl is showing some signs of wear but

nothing that stops us using it as we wantto The sides are a little saggy but it still

maintains the bowl shape A small hole

did develop in the bottom along the fold

lines of the bowl but we patched it with

our puncture repair kit and havenrsquot had a

problem since

ORTLIEB 10 LITRE FOLDING BOWLWEIGHT 92 OZ (260 GR)

BT

For more information on the folding bowl

see wwwortliebde

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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IcelandWillem Megens and Rudi Verhagen experienceIcelandrsquos dramatic landscape as they cycle

around the Vatnajoumlkull glacierPhotos WILLEM MEGENS amp RUDI VERHAGEN

PHOTO STORY

Photo WILLEM MEGENS

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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Watching icebergs drift by at Joumlkulsaacuterloacuten

Photo RUDI VERHAGEN

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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65

4

3

2

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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1 The turquoise lake of Kraa

2 Rudi relaxes at Stafafell campsite

3 Willem crosses the Syri Oacutefael river

4 Church near Uljoacutetsvatn

5 Loose sand on the jeep track to

Hviacutetaacuternes lake 6 Curious locals

Willem and Rudi love bicycletouring since it gives them a sense

of freedom and satisfactionYou can see more of their photos

at httpthemeegnl

Photo cdit 2 4 5 Wim Mg

1 3 6 rdi Vhag

1

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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Southern California is a blend of

the athentic and the aticia

The natural landscape continu-

ously shifts between green hills rugged

cliffs and sandy dunes One reoccur-

ring feature is the golf course I imagine

the golf players live in the ritzy and rich

neighborhoods that I passed on the way

such as Monterey with all its grand vil-

las protected by high walls and Malibursquos

fenced in fancy houses that occupy en-

tire beaches I did not go behind those

glamorous facades but outside of them I

met several genuine generous and gor-geous people

As I bicycled past the high walls and

private beaches the Big Sur coast ap-

peared in all its simple beauty The luxury

life sometimes drove by me in the shape

of fast cars that looked like bat-mobiles

and suV the ength of imoine sti

I cycled on with the help of the wind Itpushed me up the high hills and treated

me with splendid views from the top be-

fore blowing me back down to sea level

The scenery was spectacular with water-

falls plunging into the ocean waves that

invited me in for a salty bath and camp

grounds with the star lit sky as the only

light source

Californiarsquos animals are full of charac-

ter Cute and clever raccoons ran their

nightly raids in search of food around my

tent During the day frisky squirrels jumped

in the ed and azy eephant ea took

naps on the beach The city animals

have had a make-over to match the de-

signer handbags that they sit in Spoiled

pets were pampered in cat-spas in glitzy

lo Angee and ate gazed dog bicit

from the bakeries of wealthy Carmel In

the beach town of Solana pet owners

could even book a consultation for advice

on reducing the climate change impact

of their animalrsquos high carbon lifestyle

All of the pets and people who peek out

from a fashionable handbag gaze over aprotective wall watch through their bat-

mobile car window or look beyond the

aticia andcape of a gof coe can

still enjoy the true beauty of California

the coast For me it was amazing to see

eappeaing view of the Pacic Ocean It

was there next to the Santa Barbara col-

lege house that I stayed in It was thereas I stretched my calves and thighs after

climbing the Big Sur hills It was there as

I hng ot by the kateboad pak at Ven-

ice Beach It was there as I dried in the

sun after a swim near San Diego and it

will continue to be by my side as I start

cycling through the beauty of Mexico

C A L I F O R N I A N

B E A U T Y

You can follow Hanna Mi Jakobsonrsquosfurther trans-American travels atwwwhannamijakobsoncom

Swedish journalist Hanna Mi Jakobson cycled

the Californian coast in search of new views

BT

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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P h o t o s H A

N N A M I J A K O B S O N

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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As I had been staying in northern

Bangkok it meant that I had to

ride through the city center and

out the other side when it was time to go

I hoped that by leaving at 630am I would

miss all the early morning commuter traf-

c How wog cod I b Fom th mo-ment I left the safety of the hotel car park

I wa attackd by tafc ev with a

my bicycle lights blazing the drivers still

couldnrsquot see me at one point I thought it

might be safer if I turned the lights off be-

cause then at least they wouldnrsquot know

what to aim for During that ride through

the city horns blared all around me andcars driven by madmen desperate to get

to work inched passed me

Cycling manners At t I wa a poit a I cod poi-

bly be lsquorsquocome on guys take your time and

give me a bit of room here after all we

are in this togetherrsquorsquo after about half an

hour of this politeness I managed to get

the sentence down to a couple of choice

words and hand gestures that are under-

stood in most countries Finally after three

hours of madness I managed to reach

the city outskirts and I was completely

lost Following my compass south witha map that was not detailed enough to

show the suburban streets I had to hope

that I wod vtay d a mai ot

Finding heavenIt was now 11am the sun was getting

hot I was tired from that morningrsquos com-

muter adventure and felt it would be goodto hav a ay ih I pottd a ig

that said Jimmies Guest House perfect

I would have somewhere to stay and

hopefully Jimmie could help me with a

detailed route out of the suburbs and

south towards the coast I never found

Jimmy and after an hour of following the

signs I gave up outside the gates to what

B983137983150983143983147983151983147Goodbye

Rob Halkett leaves the Thai capital amid the

sounds of car horns birdsong and ldquohey big spenderrdquo

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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looked like an expensive resort I didnrsquot

care if it cost $1000 a night I just want-

ed off the bike It turned out to be much

cheaper than I thought and would be

the perfect place for an overnight Once

again I was given a small private bunga-

low overlooking a lake The rest of that af-

ternoon was absolute bliss as I watched

birds and other wildlife on the lake

from the comfort of my private balcony

Karaoke contestantsI met the resortrsquos other guests at dinner a

group of pensioners from northern Thai-

land who had traveled down to Bang-kok to perform in a karaoke competition

Karaoke is huge here and every bar or

club and restaurant no matter how big or

small has a karaoke machine Everyone

is welcome to pick up the microphone

and sing I was used to listening to peo-

ple who canrsquot sing perform songs that

should never have been written At din-

ner I listened to ldquomy wayrdquo ldquosomewhere

over the rainbowrdquo ldquosend in the clownsrdquo

and other classic songs from the 50s and

60s sung in Thai it was the most bizarre

evening The group who were all great

fun had brought a professional karaoke

instructor with them and he was busy all

night teaching the contestants how to

sing each song They had noticed that

there was a foreigner in the restaurant

listening to them and clapping at the end

of each song and they were determinedto get me on the stage Fortunately we

cod d othig i egih o th ma-

chine although that was partly my fault

as I had told him to key into the machine

songs by System of a down or Metallica

I went to bed that evening to the sound

of ldquoHey Big Spenderrdquo sung in ThaiBT

For Rob Halkett there is no better way to seethe world than from a bicycle saddle You

can read more stories from his world biketrip at wwwrobsbikeridecom

Photo PAul JeurIssen

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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INTERVIEW

Q If you could come back and

ride anywhere in France where

would you go

A evywh

Q And where would you avoid

A Th otkit of Mai

Q Yoursquove cycled all over the

world ndash how does France rate

when you compare it to all the

other exotic destinations yoursquove

written about

A It vy co to th top of th it

Q In your early days you man-

aged to convince lots of non-cy-

cling friends to undertake some

pretty long rides with you Doyou have any advice for cyclists

who have reluctant partners or

friends theyrsquore trying to cajole

along for a ride

A Pg foth ito th kow ndash

its much more fun and much more

memorable than doing something safeand tedious

Q France has some great

routes for families ndash the Loire

the vineyard routes of Gironde

the greenways of Brittany

Youve got two mini-cyclists

of your own who are clock-

ing up the miles ndash whatrsquos so

great about introducing kids

to cycling

A Fdom advt ig ad

noticing things that they never would

when strapped into a vehicle enjoy-

ing life without being reliant on some

computerized gadget being outdoors in

all weathers It also makes them sleep

exceptionally well

Australian cyclist Lynette Eyb startedwwwfreewheelingfrancecom to help other

bicyclists plan their trips through France

BT

Josie Dew is the author of several popularcycling adventure books such as ldquoTheWind in My Wheels Travel Tales from the

Saddlerdquo and ldquoA Ride in the Neon Sun AGaijin in Japanrdquo For more information see

wwwjosiedewcom

ldquoFrench people like

cyclists even ones

with panniersrdquo

Q What three items canrsquot you

cycle without

A Tt to-cip ad a mii lathma

Q Any nal words of advice for

people thinking about cycling in

France

A Tat with xtm catio th biq-

ito igpot that poit TOuTes

DIreCTIOns How ca yo go i a

directions at once especially when its

pointing in the opposite direction from

the one you want to go

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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BENJAMIN JACOBwwwglobecyclersde

China

Image Roadthe

from

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8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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FABIAN NAWRATH

wwwafricabybikede

Uganda Image Roadthe

from

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3036WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL - JANUARY 201230

PAUL JEURISSENwwwpauljeurissennl

India

Image Roadthe

from

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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Not being able to go pee barefoot

in the middle of the nightrdquo Aicia ua wwwrodadasnet

ldquoMy WardrobeEvery girl should have more

than 3 sets of clothes to choose from

H loyd httphelenstakeoncom

ldquoNadda nil nix zippo zilch zip

lotta Hdo wwwskalatitudecom

Longing for

My kitchen - as a hungry cyclist

I dream about itrdquoTom Kevill-Davies wwwhungrycyclistcom

ldquoThe comfort of my own toilet

Dennis Koomen

wwwtoko-op-etsvakantienl

Facebook as I do not take a

smartphone on my tripsrdquoDirk van Hulle

wwwfacebookcomdirkvanhulle

Monday morning tube ride into

lodorsquo rat racrdquoHenry Brydon wwwtheblazingsaddlescom

rdquo

ldquo

rdquo

rdquo

rdquo

rdquo

Twitt - it i difct to cyc ad twtrdquoSimon Stewart wwwsilk-wheelscom

Sitting on the coach watchingmovies with my familyrdquoDustin Orrick wwwwork2ridecom

Clearly marked prices when shoppingrdquoFred Spengler

wwwcrazyguyonabikecomonrbikes

ldquoShoes that donrsquot go ldquoclick clickrdquo

when you walk

Guy Moodie wwwabikejourneycom

ldquoNot having to put on

frozen shoes in the morningThoma riy

wwwaroundtheworldforwatercouk

Anything that casts a shadow

resting in the shaderdquoDavid Gregory wwwboomersonbikescom

ldquo A loud stereo - to drown out the sound

of big trucks and noisy carsDave Conroy wwwtiredotca

What do cyclists miss on their trips

ldquoChairman Meowthe coolest cat in Canada

Mike Boles httpmikeonbikewordpresscom

ldquoKnowing the name of the place Irsquom

headed to when asked where Irsquom going

emma Phipott wwwrolling-talescom

Photo PAul JeurIssen

rdquo

rdquo

rdquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

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8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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SPEEDSTERS By STEVE FABES

COLUMN

Chances are you have met one Phap yo v a o Had ow back amot hoizota max-

imum two panniers and eyes scanning the trailing asphalt ner-

voy taig tig gac at th odomt Itrsquo th spdt

The

During my journey Irsquove

met many cyclists striving

to ride the length of Africa

in just four months many

others are chasing world

records and several orga-

nized tours have sproutedup in recent years making

The Speedster as ubiqui-

tous in this world as drunk

British nineteen year olds on Gap Years

This entity seems to exist only on

busy highways and dreary uninspir-

ing parts of the world never on rough

roads never in those wild placesWhen we do cross paths the conver-

sation follows a predictable pattern

often beginning with ldquoSo how many ki-

lometres have you comerdquo Followed

swiftly by ldquoAnd how long did that takerdquo

Cue furrowed brow mental arithmetic

is in progress as The Speedster tries to

calculate exactly how many more kilome-

tres they cover per month than you do

Itrsquos a shame that wersquove entered an era

of fast and furious bike adventures I canrsquot

help but wonder whether

people are forgetting what

for me is the ultimate high

of traveling by bicycle - the

slow transition The bicycle

is simply one of the best

mediums to explore a coun-try in detail As one place

slowly merges with another

bicycle travelers watch the

world evolve Why race through To see

a lot but to experience little By setting a

time limit you beef up the challenge but

acic omthig that to m at at i

far more important - the adventure Thetimes I have felt most alive have been

on those dusty tracks at the very edge of

civilization The times Irsquove relished more

than any other have been when Irsquove tak-

en up offers of hospitality from local peo-

ple offers which I presume would often

be declined by the speed freaks all in the

name of a few more miles before sunset

Phap Irsquom vgig o big o of

those conceited know-it-alls the type of

irritating traveler who seems convinced

P h o t o S T E

V E F A B E S

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Dr Steve Fabes aims to cycle the length ofthe 6 continents while raising money for the

UK health charity Merlin You can followSteve at wwwcyclingthe6blogspotcom

CONTRIBUTORSthey are exploring the world in a superior

way than most but why not take more

time to look around Constantly dwell-

ing on distance and on time and on the

future means you forget to be surprised

by the present Why not resist always

taking the shortest or the easiest path

loop a ptti tha taight i

Shrug off that addiction to asphalt Take

time to banter with passersby and every

once in a while take a detour through a

town or village just because it has a fun-

ny sounding name on the map

And to The Speedsters out there I

have a few suggestions to make life eas-ier First off - a urinary catheter to oblit-

erate the need for all those time wast-

ing toilet stops A straw into your mouth

connected to a huge hat containing car-

bo-rich liquidized mush the kind of stuff

NASA gives to its astronauts And lastly

a tiny video camera on the handlebars

recording everything that occurs outsideyo twty dg via d That way

if something interesting happens to your

left or right therersquos no need to turn your

had catig dag ad acicig v-

locity Just watch it on tape afterwards in

the comfort of your own home whilst you

tell your friends and family how amazing

the experience was although you wishthat puncture on the N2 hadnacutet dented

your November average And next time

we meet - have some empathy please

Wersquore not all like you so letrsquos not talk in

numbers Tell me a good story insteadBT

AALDRIK MULDER

ALICIA URREA

ALVARO NEIL

AMAYA WILLIAMS

ANDREW MORGAN

ANDREW SYKES

BENJAMIN JACOB

DAVE CONROY

DAVID GREGORY

DAVID PIPER

DEAN CLEMENTSON

DENNIS KOOMEN

DIRK VAN HULLE

DUSTIN ORRICK

ED BRABANDER

EMMA PHILPOTT

FABIAN NAWRATH

FEARGHAL ONUALLAIN

FRED SPENGLER

FRIEDEL GRANT

GUY MOODIE

HANNA MI JAKOBSON

HARRY WAGENAAR

HELEN LLOYD

HENRIK RISAGER

HENRY BRYDON

JACK MOORE

JANYIS WATSON

JARED MITCHELL

JOSIE DEW

KATIE TIBBETTS

LEONARDO CORRADINI

LIZ WILTON

LORETTA HENDERSON

LYNETTE EYB

MARC FREEDMAN

MIKE BOLES

MIRJAM WOUTERS

PAUL JEURISSEN

RACHEL HUGENS

ROB HALKETT

ROB LUCAS

RUDI VERHAGEN

SCOTT STOLL

SHANE LITTLE

SIMON STEWART

STEVE FABES

THOMAS RILEY

TOM KEVILL-DAVIES

TYLER KELLEN

WILLEM MEGENS

rciv a SHOW IT book

with your FREE subscription to

Bicycle Traveler magazinewwwbicycletravelernl

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3636

Photo FEARGHAL Orsquo NUALLAIN

TravelerBicycle

Parting shot

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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Someday all of this will come to an end the sleep-

ing rough chiseled calves calloused arse tak-

ing 8 hours of exercise a day wearing the same

clothes for two weeks straight having an interesting topic

for conversation worrying about incline gradient and

road surfaces eating like a horse being able to eat a

horse not knowing the name of the town Irsquom in forgetting

the name of the person Irsquom spending the night with cy-cling another twenty km till lunch to save 50 cents living

out of a waterproof bag in a steel trailer saying Irlanda

30 times a day saying nononnietnine not Hollandahellip

Irrrrrrlanda assessing the quality of a book by its size

and weight as well as its content wondering why anyone

would ever wear clothes that are not waterproofbreath-

ablequick dryinglightthermal

Someday Irsquoll be home Irsquoll have a fridge a cooker a

shower a cupboard and a bed Irsquoll be able to close a door

and be by myself talk to people in complex English with

an Irish accent using colloquialisms slang and very spe-

cic Aa Patidg fc Irsquo b ab to gt ot of my

bed and not have to pack it away and go to bed without

waiting for darkness or asking some onersquos permission Irsquoll

hav to gt p at a pcic tim ad do tak that om-

one else dictates Irsquoll have a phone and a set of keys

Someday my life will be normal again and uninterest-ing and Irsquoll probably miss my stop on the train because I

was daydreaming about when I lived on a special simple

world called the road

Road

The

- Fearghal ONuallain

Fearghal and Simon Evans are the rst Irish cyclists tocircumnavigate the globe You can read their trip reports athttprevolutioncycleie

P h o t o P A u l J e

u r I s s e n

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8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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Truckers who traverse the long

barren stretches of desert tarmac

in Chilersquos Atacama Desert do so

much like male dogs canvassing city

blocksndashthey leavehellipuhhhellipbits of them-selveshellipeverywhere they go

Itrsquos impossible to take in an Atacama

viewndashthe scattered black moon rocks

the bone-colored sand dunes the moun-

tains that look as if theyrsquove been ripped

straight out of a Dali landscapendashwithout

oticig th cffd haf-d pa-

tic bottles as well Theyrsquore everywhere (sometimes one can be spotted every

100 yad) ad thyrsquo a d with th

am thig p

Thatrsquos right

P fok

The driest place on Earth is turning

out to be not such a dry a place after all

Itrsquos saturated almost with the urine ofpassing truckers

Thankfully truckers in this part of the

world create urine in hundreds of shades

of solely yellow and orange all hues that

blend nicely with the shifting shades of

the Atacamarsquos sands I have not once

spotted a bottle of the tell-tale bright

green urine of a daily-multi-vitamin-tak-

er Nor have I seen a container weighed

down with the dark brown amber pee of

a Coca-Cola-junkie I donrsquot know what

these drivers are eating and drinking but

whatever it is itrsquos stuff that keeps their

pee Atacama-colored

The problem rests with the plastic

bottles They give the place the feelingof a toilet bowl raised to the power of

two tah ca P th tadim aft

a soccer match minus 10 redwoods In

the middle of the desert in the center of

what should be one of the worldrsquos most

unique arid human-less places I see

liquid traces of lazy men (Irsquom making an

assumption here I know but I think itrsquos a

af o Oy m div ad p at th

same time) Instead of natural nothing-

ness Irsquom seeing lots of human stuff-nessI mt admit thogh sig a of

these bottles of trucker pee all over the

place has inspired my mind to delve into

areas of thought into which it never dared

venture before These are some of the

things I think about when I pass bottle

aft bott of Atacama tck p

1 How in the world do these guys

manage to pee into such small bottles

ad div at th am tim ray how

They must I assume carry (and hopefully

Trucker TracesStory amp Photo ANDREW MORGAN

Cyclist Andrew Morgan discovers that the Atacama desert isnrsquot completely dry

ldquoThatrsquos right

Pee folksrdquo

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wash every once in a while) funnels

2 Wow that one was incredibly

orange I never in my life have seen that

shade of orange before in pee or any-

where else I wonder if that guyrsquos OK

3 That bottle is so full it clearly has

been used many many times In between

uses for a few weeks where does he

to it I a cp hod ud hi at

4 If Chilean energy drink companies

were smart (are there any Chilean en-

ergy drink companies) they would send

scientists out into the desert to collect

samples from as many bottles of truck-

er pee as possible From the samplestheyrsquod be able to tell what nutrients and

other stuff truckers are lacking in their di-

t Pttig th thig ito a pcica-

ly-designed-for-truckers drink would cre-

ate a hit product one with an uncanny

ability to leave truckers feeling refreshed

5 Hy coondashomo d a mo-

ade bottle with pee that looks exactly likelemonade I mean

exactly Hmmmmhellip

actual lyhellipmaybe

itrsquos just a big bottle

of lemonade that

someone couldnrsquot

ih Wod it b

too risky to openthe thing and smell

it to see if maybe

it is lemonade and

maybe maybe I

could drink it Hmm-

mm Hmmmm Yes

Too iky Dity

6 uggggh I hat

seeing all of this

trash everywhere

If I wa Pidt

Read about Andrew Morganrsquos year-and-a-half long ride through the Americas at

wwwTeacherontwowheelscom A bookabout his trip is due out in 2012

BT

of Chile Irsquod create a pee-bottle recycling

program complete with incentives and

all For each ounce of pee you brought to

a recycling center yoursquod get some sort of

food A piece of carrot cake Or a donut

Not a drink of course but food

If you are a Chilean trucker please for

the love of the two or three animals that

call the Atacama home and all the tourists

all 10 of them who ride bicycles across

it each year please donrsquot throw bottles

of pee out your window while you drive

Stop get out of the truck take a breath

of fresh air and pee into the sand like ev-

eryone else

Thank you Gracias

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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TRIP GEAR

Escaping the dark winter months by

touring Morocco or Mexico is fun but

gttig bt aft yo t day

of cycling isnrsquot Scape is a waterproof

sweat proof sunscreen which will not

rub off and run into your eyes It also

ha th hight uVA potctio of a

sunscreens on the market

Price $1499 US

wwwscapelabscom

Advanced Sunscreen

Th Motai Hadwa utalamia

32 sleeping bag weighs just 1 lb15 oz

(870 gr) and packs down to approximately6 inches (17 cm) long It is designed for

damp cool conditions and is rated to 37

degrees F (3 C)

Price $190 US

Synthetic Sleeping Bag

Sololite One Person TentThe Wild Country Sololite is an inex-

pensive all-season solo tent It weighs

4 lb 35 oz (less than 2 kg) and is over

7 feet (220 cm) long

Price $17849 US

wwwterra-novacouk

A look at equipment for bicycle travelersBy GRACE JOHNSON

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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The Scrubr is a synthetic scouring pad

for cleaning your cooking gear Itrsquos

lightweight odor resistant and drips dry

in minutes The makers of Scrubr write

ldquoWe developed it because we weretired of having to throw away stinky

sponges after one camping triprdquo

Price $275 US

httplunatecgearcom

Scrubr Scouring Pad

Many Asian countries are full of cheaphotels so itrsquos tempting to leave your

camping gear at home Still if you become

stranded a cold night in the open can be

extremely uncomfortable An alternative

i to cay th sOl emgcy Bivy Itrsquo

made from the same material as space

bakt which ct 90 of yo body

heat back to youThe bag packs smalland weighs 38 oz (107 gr)

Price $50 US

wwwadventuremedicalkitscom

Emergency Bivy Bag

TrendyDigitalrsquos SplashGuard case is a

padded pouch with a protective screen

Itrsquos also resistant to water and dust You

can operate the keyboard and naviga-

tion button of your Kindle right through

the case It weighs 45 oz (128 gr) and

the company also makes protective

ca fo th iPad

Price $1599 US

httptrendydigitalcom

Kindle Protection

EQUIPMENT

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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Amonth before we left on our round

the world trip I began thinking ldquowhat

are we going to sit onrdquo After talking it

over with Tara (my wife) we decided our

requirements for a chair were (in order

of impotac) compact iz comfot-

able to sit in and (hopefully) very light

I started at the tip of the camp seatingiceberg by looking what Id used during

a my ai famiy campig tip tho

foldable chairs movie directors are sup-

posed to sit in I found big ones comi-

cally small ones wooden ones steel

ones aluminum ones and countless oth-

er variations before realizing the solution

had to lay elsewhere Delving deeper Idiscovered a dizzying array of options

including hundreds of folding chairs a

weird collapsible sling we tried it it was

awful) chairs with more moving parts

tha a ca ad ay gttig co ot

of th ggd o that md to t

the bill except they were all rather large

Once Id decided that a three leggedchair had the most potential I started

looking for one with telescoping legs I

knew it had to exist It took a lot of hunt-

ing but I eventually found the Swedish

made Walkstool and it had everything

w watd ma coapd iz vy

comfortable seating and thanks to its

amim cotctio ight wight O

of the things I like most about the Walk-

stool is that you can sit on it when the

legs arent extended the perfect height

for working on the drivetrain of your bi-

cycle or preparing dinner on the ground

After six months of use and abuse they

look brand new and work just as well as

they day they arrived at our doorstep I

oy hav o gativ thig to pot

they need better advertising

Walkstool Comfort

WALKSTOOL COMFORT

HEIGHT 18 IN (45 CM)

FOLDED LENGTH 11 IN (28 CM)

WEIGHT 26 OZ (725 GR)

MAXIMUM LOAD 440 LBS (200 KG)

By TYLER KELLEN

Tyler Kellen amp Tara Alan spent two yearscycling around the world Their websitewwwgoingslowlycom is the scrapbook of

their adventures together

GEAR REVIEWS

For further information on the Walkstool

Comfort see wwwwalkstoolcom

BT

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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EQUIPMENT

S

ometimes itrsquos hard to separate the

important accessories from the friv-

olous ones when choosing what to take

on a tour For a long time we put Ort-

liebrsquos 10 litre folding bowl in the sec-

ond category We couldnrsquot imagine why

we needed one

It wasnrsquot until we met a couple with not

one but two folding bowls on tour that we

reconsidered our decisionSince then the

bowl (which comes in 5 litre and 20 litre siz-es as well) has been one of our most reg-

ularly used items What do we use it for

Doig lady sik a oft with-

out plugs or if yoursquore camping you may

not have access to a sink at all The bowl

is great for doing laundry in and you can

fold it together with the clothes inside to

help squeeze out excess waterCoctig wat fo tig W gt

a large amount of water together in the

bow to t ito o bott wh wrsquo

in places where we canrsquot trust the water

showig u th bow to cay v-

erything you need for your shower back

and forth between the bathrooms and

the tent If yoursquore wild camping you canalso use the bowl to collect water from a

stream or river for a bucket shower

Washing Dishes Throw them all in

with a little dish soap and you have an

instant sink or just use the bowl to carry

everything to the washing area

Cleaning Food You can throw large

quantities of vegetables in the bowl to

be washed We use ours a lot for salad

leaves which are too bulky to clean in

our saucepans You can also use the

Ortlieb 10 Litre Folding BowlBy FRIEDEL GRANT

Friedel amp Andrew Grantrsquos extensive website

wwwtravellingtwocom contains their tripreports resources for bicycle travelers andthe e-book ldquoBike Touring Survival Guiderdquo

bowl as an extra serving dish We often

make and dress our salads directly in it

Itrsquos hard to think of a day where we

donrsquot use our Ortlieb Bowl When it isnrsquot

being put to work it folds up into a tri-

angle and sits on top of our camping

mattresses which lie across Friedelrsquos

two back panniers So howrsquos it holding

up After 2 years of constant use our

bowl is showing some signs of wear but

nothing that stops us using it as we wantto The sides are a little saggy but it still

maintains the bowl shape A small hole

did develop in the bottom along the fold

lines of the bowl but we patched it with

our puncture repair kit and havenrsquot had a

problem since

ORTLIEB 10 LITRE FOLDING BOWLWEIGHT 92 OZ (260 GR)

BT

For more information on the folding bowl

see wwwortliebde

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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IcelandWillem Megens and Rudi Verhagen experienceIcelandrsquos dramatic landscape as they cycle

around the Vatnajoumlkull glacierPhotos WILLEM MEGENS amp RUDI VERHAGEN

PHOTO STORY

Photo WILLEM MEGENS

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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Watching icebergs drift by at Joumlkulsaacuterloacuten

Photo RUDI VERHAGEN

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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65

4

3

2

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1 The turquoise lake of Kraa

2 Rudi relaxes at Stafafell campsite

3 Willem crosses the Syri Oacutefael river

4 Church near Uljoacutetsvatn

5 Loose sand on the jeep track to

Hviacutetaacuternes lake 6 Curious locals

Willem and Rudi love bicycletouring since it gives them a sense

of freedom and satisfactionYou can see more of their photos

at httpthemeegnl

Photo cdit 2 4 5 Wim Mg

1 3 6 rdi Vhag

1

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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Southern California is a blend of

the athentic and the aticia

The natural landscape continu-

ously shifts between green hills rugged

cliffs and sandy dunes One reoccur-

ring feature is the golf course I imagine

the golf players live in the ritzy and rich

neighborhoods that I passed on the way

such as Monterey with all its grand vil-

las protected by high walls and Malibursquos

fenced in fancy houses that occupy en-

tire beaches I did not go behind those

glamorous facades but outside of them I

met several genuine generous and gor-geous people

As I bicycled past the high walls and

private beaches the Big Sur coast ap-

peared in all its simple beauty The luxury

life sometimes drove by me in the shape

of fast cars that looked like bat-mobiles

and suV the ength of imoine sti

I cycled on with the help of the wind Itpushed me up the high hills and treated

me with splendid views from the top be-

fore blowing me back down to sea level

The scenery was spectacular with water-

falls plunging into the ocean waves that

invited me in for a salty bath and camp

grounds with the star lit sky as the only

light source

Californiarsquos animals are full of charac-

ter Cute and clever raccoons ran their

nightly raids in search of food around my

tent During the day frisky squirrels jumped

in the ed and azy eephant ea took

naps on the beach The city animals

have had a make-over to match the de-

signer handbags that they sit in Spoiled

pets were pampered in cat-spas in glitzy

lo Angee and ate gazed dog bicit

from the bakeries of wealthy Carmel In

the beach town of Solana pet owners

could even book a consultation for advice

on reducing the climate change impact

of their animalrsquos high carbon lifestyle

All of the pets and people who peek out

from a fashionable handbag gaze over aprotective wall watch through their bat-

mobile car window or look beyond the

aticia andcape of a gof coe can

still enjoy the true beauty of California

the coast For me it was amazing to see

eappeaing view of the Pacic Ocean It

was there next to the Santa Barbara col-

lege house that I stayed in It was thereas I stretched my calves and thighs after

climbing the Big Sur hills It was there as

I hng ot by the kateboad pak at Ven-

ice Beach It was there as I dried in the

sun after a swim near San Diego and it

will continue to be by my side as I start

cycling through the beauty of Mexico

C A L I F O R N I A N

B E A U T Y

You can follow Hanna Mi Jakobsonrsquosfurther trans-American travels atwwwhannamijakobsoncom

Swedish journalist Hanna Mi Jakobson cycled

the Californian coast in search of new views

BT

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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P h o t o s H A

N N A M I J A K O B S O N

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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As I had been staying in northern

Bangkok it meant that I had to

ride through the city center and

out the other side when it was time to go

I hoped that by leaving at 630am I would

miss all the early morning commuter traf-

c How wog cod I b Fom th mo-ment I left the safety of the hotel car park

I wa attackd by tafc ev with a

my bicycle lights blazing the drivers still

couldnrsquot see me at one point I thought it

might be safer if I turned the lights off be-

cause then at least they wouldnrsquot know

what to aim for During that ride through

the city horns blared all around me andcars driven by madmen desperate to get

to work inched passed me

Cycling manners At t I wa a poit a I cod poi-

bly be lsquorsquocome on guys take your time and

give me a bit of room here after all we

are in this togetherrsquorsquo after about half an

hour of this politeness I managed to get

the sentence down to a couple of choice

words and hand gestures that are under-

stood in most countries Finally after three

hours of madness I managed to reach

the city outskirts and I was completely

lost Following my compass south witha map that was not detailed enough to

show the suburban streets I had to hope

that I wod vtay d a mai ot

Finding heavenIt was now 11am the sun was getting

hot I was tired from that morningrsquos com-

muter adventure and felt it would be goodto hav a ay ih I pottd a ig

that said Jimmies Guest House perfect

I would have somewhere to stay and

hopefully Jimmie could help me with a

detailed route out of the suburbs and

south towards the coast I never found

Jimmy and after an hour of following the

signs I gave up outside the gates to what

B983137983150983143983147983151983147Goodbye

Rob Halkett leaves the Thai capital amid the

sounds of car horns birdsong and ldquohey big spenderrdquo

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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looked like an expensive resort I didnrsquot

care if it cost $1000 a night I just want-

ed off the bike It turned out to be much

cheaper than I thought and would be

the perfect place for an overnight Once

again I was given a small private bunga-

low overlooking a lake The rest of that af-

ternoon was absolute bliss as I watched

birds and other wildlife on the lake

from the comfort of my private balcony

Karaoke contestantsI met the resortrsquos other guests at dinner a

group of pensioners from northern Thai-

land who had traveled down to Bang-kok to perform in a karaoke competition

Karaoke is huge here and every bar or

club and restaurant no matter how big or

small has a karaoke machine Everyone

is welcome to pick up the microphone

and sing I was used to listening to peo-

ple who canrsquot sing perform songs that

should never have been written At din-

ner I listened to ldquomy wayrdquo ldquosomewhere

over the rainbowrdquo ldquosend in the clownsrdquo

and other classic songs from the 50s and

60s sung in Thai it was the most bizarre

evening The group who were all great

fun had brought a professional karaoke

instructor with them and he was busy all

night teaching the contestants how to

sing each song They had noticed that

there was a foreigner in the restaurant

listening to them and clapping at the end

of each song and they were determinedto get me on the stage Fortunately we

cod d othig i egih o th ma-

chine although that was partly my fault

as I had told him to key into the machine

songs by System of a down or Metallica

I went to bed that evening to the sound

of ldquoHey Big Spenderrdquo sung in ThaiBT

For Rob Halkett there is no better way to seethe world than from a bicycle saddle You

can read more stories from his world biketrip at wwwrobsbikeridecom

Photo PAul JeurIssen

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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INTERVIEW

Q If you could come back and

ride anywhere in France where

would you go

A evywh

Q And where would you avoid

A Th otkit of Mai

Q Yoursquove cycled all over the

world ndash how does France rate

when you compare it to all the

other exotic destinations yoursquove

written about

A It vy co to th top of th it

Q In your early days you man-

aged to convince lots of non-cy-

cling friends to undertake some

pretty long rides with you Doyou have any advice for cyclists

who have reluctant partners or

friends theyrsquore trying to cajole

along for a ride

A Pg foth ito th kow ndash

its much more fun and much more

memorable than doing something safeand tedious

Q France has some great

routes for families ndash the Loire

the vineyard routes of Gironde

the greenways of Brittany

Youve got two mini-cyclists

of your own who are clock-

ing up the miles ndash whatrsquos so

great about introducing kids

to cycling

A Fdom advt ig ad

noticing things that they never would

when strapped into a vehicle enjoy-

ing life without being reliant on some

computerized gadget being outdoors in

all weathers It also makes them sleep

exceptionally well

Australian cyclist Lynette Eyb startedwwwfreewheelingfrancecom to help other

bicyclists plan their trips through France

BT

Josie Dew is the author of several popularcycling adventure books such as ldquoTheWind in My Wheels Travel Tales from the

Saddlerdquo and ldquoA Ride in the Neon Sun AGaijin in Japanrdquo For more information see

wwwjosiedewcom

ldquoFrench people like

cyclists even ones

with panniersrdquo

Q What three items canrsquot you

cycle without

A Tt to-cip ad a mii lathma

Q Any nal words of advice for

people thinking about cycling in

France

A Tat with xtm catio th biq-

ito igpot that poit TOuTes

DIreCTIOns How ca yo go i a

directions at once especially when its

pointing in the opposite direction from

the one you want to go

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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BENJAMIN JACOBwwwglobecyclersde

China

Image Roadthe

from

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8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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FABIAN NAWRATH

wwwafricabybikede

Uganda Image Roadthe

from

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3036WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL - JANUARY 201230

PAUL JEURISSENwwwpauljeurissennl

India

Image Roadthe

from

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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Not being able to go pee barefoot

in the middle of the nightrdquo Aicia ua wwwrodadasnet

ldquoMy WardrobeEvery girl should have more

than 3 sets of clothes to choose from

H loyd httphelenstakeoncom

ldquoNadda nil nix zippo zilch zip

lotta Hdo wwwskalatitudecom

Longing for

My kitchen - as a hungry cyclist

I dream about itrdquoTom Kevill-Davies wwwhungrycyclistcom

ldquoThe comfort of my own toilet

Dennis Koomen

wwwtoko-op-etsvakantienl

Facebook as I do not take a

smartphone on my tripsrdquoDirk van Hulle

wwwfacebookcomdirkvanhulle

Monday morning tube ride into

lodorsquo rat racrdquoHenry Brydon wwwtheblazingsaddlescom

rdquo

ldquo

rdquo

rdquo

rdquo

rdquo

Twitt - it i difct to cyc ad twtrdquoSimon Stewart wwwsilk-wheelscom

Sitting on the coach watchingmovies with my familyrdquoDustin Orrick wwwwork2ridecom

Clearly marked prices when shoppingrdquoFred Spengler

wwwcrazyguyonabikecomonrbikes

ldquoShoes that donrsquot go ldquoclick clickrdquo

when you walk

Guy Moodie wwwabikejourneycom

ldquoNot having to put on

frozen shoes in the morningThoma riy

wwwaroundtheworldforwatercouk

Anything that casts a shadow

resting in the shaderdquoDavid Gregory wwwboomersonbikescom

ldquo A loud stereo - to drown out the sound

of big trucks and noisy carsDave Conroy wwwtiredotca

What do cyclists miss on their trips

ldquoChairman Meowthe coolest cat in Canada

Mike Boles httpmikeonbikewordpresscom

ldquoKnowing the name of the place Irsquom

headed to when asked where Irsquom going

emma Phipott wwwrolling-talescom

Photo PAul JeurIssen

rdquo

rdquo

rdquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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SPEEDSTERS By STEVE FABES

COLUMN

Chances are you have met one Phap yo v a o Had ow back amot hoizota max-

imum two panniers and eyes scanning the trailing asphalt ner-

voy taig tig gac at th odomt Itrsquo th spdt

The

During my journey Irsquove

met many cyclists striving

to ride the length of Africa

in just four months many

others are chasing world

records and several orga-

nized tours have sproutedup in recent years making

The Speedster as ubiqui-

tous in this world as drunk

British nineteen year olds on Gap Years

This entity seems to exist only on

busy highways and dreary uninspir-

ing parts of the world never on rough

roads never in those wild placesWhen we do cross paths the conver-

sation follows a predictable pattern

often beginning with ldquoSo how many ki-

lometres have you comerdquo Followed

swiftly by ldquoAnd how long did that takerdquo

Cue furrowed brow mental arithmetic

is in progress as The Speedster tries to

calculate exactly how many more kilome-

tres they cover per month than you do

Itrsquos a shame that wersquove entered an era

of fast and furious bike adventures I canrsquot

help but wonder whether

people are forgetting what

for me is the ultimate high

of traveling by bicycle - the

slow transition The bicycle

is simply one of the best

mediums to explore a coun-try in detail As one place

slowly merges with another

bicycle travelers watch the

world evolve Why race through To see

a lot but to experience little By setting a

time limit you beef up the challenge but

acic omthig that to m at at i

far more important - the adventure Thetimes I have felt most alive have been

on those dusty tracks at the very edge of

civilization The times Irsquove relished more

than any other have been when Irsquove tak-

en up offers of hospitality from local peo-

ple offers which I presume would often

be declined by the speed freaks all in the

name of a few more miles before sunset

Phap Irsquom vgig o big o of

those conceited know-it-alls the type of

irritating traveler who seems convinced

P h o t o S T E

V E F A B E S

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Dr Steve Fabes aims to cycle the length ofthe 6 continents while raising money for the

UK health charity Merlin You can followSteve at wwwcyclingthe6blogspotcom

CONTRIBUTORSthey are exploring the world in a superior

way than most but why not take more

time to look around Constantly dwell-

ing on distance and on time and on the

future means you forget to be surprised

by the present Why not resist always

taking the shortest or the easiest path

loop a ptti tha taight i

Shrug off that addiction to asphalt Take

time to banter with passersby and every

once in a while take a detour through a

town or village just because it has a fun-

ny sounding name on the map

And to The Speedsters out there I

have a few suggestions to make life eas-ier First off - a urinary catheter to oblit-

erate the need for all those time wast-

ing toilet stops A straw into your mouth

connected to a huge hat containing car-

bo-rich liquidized mush the kind of stuff

NASA gives to its astronauts And lastly

a tiny video camera on the handlebars

recording everything that occurs outsideyo twty dg via d That way

if something interesting happens to your

left or right therersquos no need to turn your

had catig dag ad acicig v-

locity Just watch it on tape afterwards in

the comfort of your own home whilst you

tell your friends and family how amazing

the experience was although you wishthat puncture on the N2 hadnacutet dented

your November average And next time

we meet - have some empathy please

Wersquore not all like you so letrsquos not talk in

numbers Tell me a good story insteadBT

AALDRIK MULDER

ALICIA URREA

ALVARO NEIL

AMAYA WILLIAMS

ANDREW MORGAN

ANDREW SYKES

BENJAMIN JACOB

DAVE CONROY

DAVID GREGORY

DAVID PIPER

DEAN CLEMENTSON

DENNIS KOOMEN

DIRK VAN HULLE

DUSTIN ORRICK

ED BRABANDER

EMMA PHILPOTT

FABIAN NAWRATH

FEARGHAL ONUALLAIN

FRED SPENGLER

FRIEDEL GRANT

GUY MOODIE

HANNA MI JAKOBSON

HARRY WAGENAAR

HELEN LLOYD

HENRIK RISAGER

HENRY BRYDON

JACK MOORE

JANYIS WATSON

JARED MITCHELL

JOSIE DEW

KATIE TIBBETTS

LEONARDO CORRADINI

LIZ WILTON

LORETTA HENDERSON

LYNETTE EYB

MARC FREEDMAN

MIKE BOLES

MIRJAM WOUTERS

PAUL JEURISSEN

RACHEL HUGENS

ROB HALKETT

ROB LUCAS

RUDI VERHAGEN

SCOTT STOLL

SHANE LITTLE

SIMON STEWART

STEVE FABES

THOMAS RILEY

TOM KEVILL-DAVIES

TYLER KELLEN

WILLEM MEGENS

rciv a SHOW IT book

with your FREE subscription to

Bicycle Traveler magazinewwwbicycletravelernl

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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Photo FEARGHAL Orsquo NUALLAIN

TravelerBicycle

Parting shot

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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Truckers who traverse the long

barren stretches of desert tarmac

in Chilersquos Atacama Desert do so

much like male dogs canvassing city

blocksndashthey leavehellipuhhhellipbits of them-selveshellipeverywhere they go

Itrsquos impossible to take in an Atacama

viewndashthe scattered black moon rocks

the bone-colored sand dunes the moun-

tains that look as if theyrsquove been ripped

straight out of a Dali landscapendashwithout

oticig th cffd haf-d pa-

tic bottles as well Theyrsquore everywhere (sometimes one can be spotted every

100 yad) ad thyrsquo a d with th

am thig p

Thatrsquos right

P fok

The driest place on Earth is turning

out to be not such a dry a place after all

Itrsquos saturated almost with the urine ofpassing truckers

Thankfully truckers in this part of the

world create urine in hundreds of shades

of solely yellow and orange all hues that

blend nicely with the shifting shades of

the Atacamarsquos sands I have not once

spotted a bottle of the tell-tale bright

green urine of a daily-multi-vitamin-tak-

er Nor have I seen a container weighed

down with the dark brown amber pee of

a Coca-Cola-junkie I donrsquot know what

these drivers are eating and drinking but

whatever it is itrsquos stuff that keeps their

pee Atacama-colored

The problem rests with the plastic

bottles They give the place the feelingof a toilet bowl raised to the power of

two tah ca P th tadim aft

a soccer match minus 10 redwoods In

the middle of the desert in the center of

what should be one of the worldrsquos most

unique arid human-less places I see

liquid traces of lazy men (Irsquom making an

assumption here I know but I think itrsquos a

af o Oy m div ad p at th

same time) Instead of natural nothing-

ness Irsquom seeing lots of human stuff-nessI mt admit thogh sig a of

these bottles of trucker pee all over the

place has inspired my mind to delve into

areas of thought into which it never dared

venture before These are some of the

things I think about when I pass bottle

aft bott of Atacama tck p

1 How in the world do these guys

manage to pee into such small bottles

ad div at th am tim ray how

They must I assume carry (and hopefully

Trucker TracesStory amp Photo ANDREW MORGAN

Cyclist Andrew Morgan discovers that the Atacama desert isnrsquot completely dry

ldquoThatrsquos right

Pee folksrdquo

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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wash every once in a while) funnels

2 Wow that one was incredibly

orange I never in my life have seen that

shade of orange before in pee or any-

where else I wonder if that guyrsquos OK

3 That bottle is so full it clearly has

been used many many times In between

uses for a few weeks where does he

to it I a cp hod ud hi at

4 If Chilean energy drink companies

were smart (are there any Chilean en-

ergy drink companies) they would send

scientists out into the desert to collect

samples from as many bottles of truck-

er pee as possible From the samplestheyrsquod be able to tell what nutrients and

other stuff truckers are lacking in their di-

t Pttig th thig ito a pcica-

ly-designed-for-truckers drink would cre-

ate a hit product one with an uncanny

ability to leave truckers feeling refreshed

5 Hy coondashomo d a mo-

ade bottle with pee that looks exactly likelemonade I mean

exactly Hmmmmhellip

actual lyhellipmaybe

itrsquos just a big bottle

of lemonade that

someone couldnrsquot

ih Wod it b

too risky to openthe thing and smell

it to see if maybe

it is lemonade and

maybe maybe I

could drink it Hmm-

mm Hmmmm Yes

Too iky Dity

6 uggggh I hat

seeing all of this

trash everywhere

If I wa Pidt

Read about Andrew Morganrsquos year-and-a-half long ride through the Americas at

wwwTeacherontwowheelscom A bookabout his trip is due out in 2012

BT

of Chile Irsquod create a pee-bottle recycling

program complete with incentives and

all For each ounce of pee you brought to

a recycling center yoursquod get some sort of

food A piece of carrot cake Or a donut

Not a drink of course but food

If you are a Chilean trucker please for

the love of the two or three animals that

call the Atacama home and all the tourists

all 10 of them who ride bicycles across

it each year please donrsquot throw bottles

of pee out your window while you drive

Stop get out of the truck take a breath

of fresh air and pee into the sand like ev-

eryone else

Thank you Gracias

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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TRIP GEAR

Escaping the dark winter months by

touring Morocco or Mexico is fun but

gttig bt aft yo t day

of cycling isnrsquot Scape is a waterproof

sweat proof sunscreen which will not

rub off and run into your eyes It also

ha th hight uVA potctio of a

sunscreens on the market

Price $1499 US

wwwscapelabscom

Advanced Sunscreen

Th Motai Hadwa utalamia

32 sleeping bag weighs just 1 lb15 oz

(870 gr) and packs down to approximately6 inches (17 cm) long It is designed for

damp cool conditions and is rated to 37

degrees F (3 C)

Price $190 US

Synthetic Sleeping Bag

Sololite One Person TentThe Wild Country Sololite is an inex-

pensive all-season solo tent It weighs

4 lb 35 oz (less than 2 kg) and is over

7 feet (220 cm) long

Price $17849 US

wwwterra-novacouk

A look at equipment for bicycle travelersBy GRACE JOHNSON

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 1136JANUARY 2012 - WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL 11

The Scrubr is a synthetic scouring pad

for cleaning your cooking gear Itrsquos

lightweight odor resistant and drips dry

in minutes The makers of Scrubr write

ldquoWe developed it because we weretired of having to throw away stinky

sponges after one camping triprdquo

Price $275 US

httplunatecgearcom

Scrubr Scouring Pad

Many Asian countries are full of cheaphotels so itrsquos tempting to leave your

camping gear at home Still if you become

stranded a cold night in the open can be

extremely uncomfortable An alternative

i to cay th sOl emgcy Bivy Itrsquo

made from the same material as space

bakt which ct 90 of yo body

heat back to youThe bag packs smalland weighs 38 oz (107 gr)

Price $50 US

wwwadventuremedicalkitscom

Emergency Bivy Bag

TrendyDigitalrsquos SplashGuard case is a

padded pouch with a protective screen

Itrsquos also resistant to water and dust You

can operate the keyboard and naviga-

tion button of your Kindle right through

the case It weighs 45 oz (128 gr) and

the company also makes protective

ca fo th iPad

Price $1599 US

httptrendydigitalcom

Kindle Protection

EQUIPMENT

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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Amonth before we left on our round

the world trip I began thinking ldquowhat

are we going to sit onrdquo After talking it

over with Tara (my wife) we decided our

requirements for a chair were (in order

of impotac) compact iz comfot-

able to sit in and (hopefully) very light

I started at the tip of the camp seatingiceberg by looking what Id used during

a my ai famiy campig tip tho

foldable chairs movie directors are sup-

posed to sit in I found big ones comi-

cally small ones wooden ones steel

ones aluminum ones and countless oth-

er variations before realizing the solution

had to lay elsewhere Delving deeper Idiscovered a dizzying array of options

including hundreds of folding chairs a

weird collapsible sling we tried it it was

awful) chairs with more moving parts

tha a ca ad ay gttig co ot

of th ggd o that md to t

the bill except they were all rather large

Once Id decided that a three leggedchair had the most potential I started

looking for one with telescoping legs I

knew it had to exist It took a lot of hunt-

ing but I eventually found the Swedish

made Walkstool and it had everything

w watd ma coapd iz vy

comfortable seating and thanks to its

amim cotctio ight wight O

of the things I like most about the Walk-

stool is that you can sit on it when the

legs arent extended the perfect height

for working on the drivetrain of your bi-

cycle or preparing dinner on the ground

After six months of use and abuse they

look brand new and work just as well as

they day they arrived at our doorstep I

oy hav o gativ thig to pot

they need better advertising

Walkstool Comfort

WALKSTOOL COMFORT

HEIGHT 18 IN (45 CM)

FOLDED LENGTH 11 IN (28 CM)

WEIGHT 26 OZ (725 GR)

MAXIMUM LOAD 440 LBS (200 KG)

By TYLER KELLEN

Tyler Kellen amp Tara Alan spent two yearscycling around the world Their websitewwwgoingslowlycom is the scrapbook of

their adventures together

GEAR REVIEWS

For further information on the Walkstool

Comfort see wwwwalkstoolcom

BT

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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EQUIPMENT

S

ometimes itrsquos hard to separate the

important accessories from the friv-

olous ones when choosing what to take

on a tour For a long time we put Ort-

liebrsquos 10 litre folding bowl in the sec-

ond category We couldnrsquot imagine why

we needed one

It wasnrsquot until we met a couple with not

one but two folding bowls on tour that we

reconsidered our decisionSince then the

bowl (which comes in 5 litre and 20 litre siz-es as well) has been one of our most reg-

ularly used items What do we use it for

Doig lady sik a oft with-

out plugs or if yoursquore camping you may

not have access to a sink at all The bowl

is great for doing laundry in and you can

fold it together with the clothes inside to

help squeeze out excess waterCoctig wat fo tig W gt

a large amount of water together in the

bow to t ito o bott wh wrsquo

in places where we canrsquot trust the water

showig u th bow to cay v-

erything you need for your shower back

and forth between the bathrooms and

the tent If yoursquore wild camping you canalso use the bowl to collect water from a

stream or river for a bucket shower

Washing Dishes Throw them all in

with a little dish soap and you have an

instant sink or just use the bowl to carry

everything to the washing area

Cleaning Food You can throw large

quantities of vegetables in the bowl to

be washed We use ours a lot for salad

leaves which are too bulky to clean in

our saucepans You can also use the

Ortlieb 10 Litre Folding BowlBy FRIEDEL GRANT

Friedel amp Andrew Grantrsquos extensive website

wwwtravellingtwocom contains their tripreports resources for bicycle travelers andthe e-book ldquoBike Touring Survival Guiderdquo

bowl as an extra serving dish We often

make and dress our salads directly in it

Itrsquos hard to think of a day where we

donrsquot use our Ortlieb Bowl When it isnrsquot

being put to work it folds up into a tri-

angle and sits on top of our camping

mattresses which lie across Friedelrsquos

two back panniers So howrsquos it holding

up After 2 years of constant use our

bowl is showing some signs of wear but

nothing that stops us using it as we wantto The sides are a little saggy but it still

maintains the bowl shape A small hole

did develop in the bottom along the fold

lines of the bowl but we patched it with

our puncture repair kit and havenrsquot had a

problem since

ORTLIEB 10 LITRE FOLDING BOWLWEIGHT 92 OZ (260 GR)

BT

For more information on the folding bowl

see wwwortliebde

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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IcelandWillem Megens and Rudi Verhagen experienceIcelandrsquos dramatic landscape as they cycle

around the Vatnajoumlkull glacierPhotos WILLEM MEGENS amp RUDI VERHAGEN

PHOTO STORY

Photo WILLEM MEGENS

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8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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Watching icebergs drift by at Joumlkulsaacuterloacuten

Photo RUDI VERHAGEN

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8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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65

4

3

2

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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1 The turquoise lake of Kraa

2 Rudi relaxes at Stafafell campsite

3 Willem crosses the Syri Oacutefael river

4 Church near Uljoacutetsvatn

5 Loose sand on the jeep track to

Hviacutetaacuternes lake 6 Curious locals

Willem and Rudi love bicycletouring since it gives them a sense

of freedom and satisfactionYou can see more of their photos

at httpthemeegnl

Photo cdit 2 4 5 Wim Mg

1 3 6 rdi Vhag

1

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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Southern California is a blend of

the athentic and the aticia

The natural landscape continu-

ously shifts between green hills rugged

cliffs and sandy dunes One reoccur-

ring feature is the golf course I imagine

the golf players live in the ritzy and rich

neighborhoods that I passed on the way

such as Monterey with all its grand vil-

las protected by high walls and Malibursquos

fenced in fancy houses that occupy en-

tire beaches I did not go behind those

glamorous facades but outside of them I

met several genuine generous and gor-geous people

As I bicycled past the high walls and

private beaches the Big Sur coast ap-

peared in all its simple beauty The luxury

life sometimes drove by me in the shape

of fast cars that looked like bat-mobiles

and suV the ength of imoine sti

I cycled on with the help of the wind Itpushed me up the high hills and treated

me with splendid views from the top be-

fore blowing me back down to sea level

The scenery was spectacular with water-

falls plunging into the ocean waves that

invited me in for a salty bath and camp

grounds with the star lit sky as the only

light source

Californiarsquos animals are full of charac-

ter Cute and clever raccoons ran their

nightly raids in search of food around my

tent During the day frisky squirrels jumped

in the ed and azy eephant ea took

naps on the beach The city animals

have had a make-over to match the de-

signer handbags that they sit in Spoiled

pets were pampered in cat-spas in glitzy

lo Angee and ate gazed dog bicit

from the bakeries of wealthy Carmel In

the beach town of Solana pet owners

could even book a consultation for advice

on reducing the climate change impact

of their animalrsquos high carbon lifestyle

All of the pets and people who peek out

from a fashionable handbag gaze over aprotective wall watch through their bat-

mobile car window or look beyond the

aticia andcape of a gof coe can

still enjoy the true beauty of California

the coast For me it was amazing to see

eappeaing view of the Pacic Ocean It

was there next to the Santa Barbara col-

lege house that I stayed in It was thereas I stretched my calves and thighs after

climbing the Big Sur hills It was there as

I hng ot by the kateboad pak at Ven-

ice Beach It was there as I dried in the

sun after a swim near San Diego and it

will continue to be by my side as I start

cycling through the beauty of Mexico

C A L I F O R N I A N

B E A U T Y

You can follow Hanna Mi Jakobsonrsquosfurther trans-American travels atwwwhannamijakobsoncom

Swedish journalist Hanna Mi Jakobson cycled

the Californian coast in search of new views

BT

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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P h o t o s H A

N N A M I J A K O B S O N

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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As I had been staying in northern

Bangkok it meant that I had to

ride through the city center and

out the other side when it was time to go

I hoped that by leaving at 630am I would

miss all the early morning commuter traf-

c How wog cod I b Fom th mo-ment I left the safety of the hotel car park

I wa attackd by tafc ev with a

my bicycle lights blazing the drivers still

couldnrsquot see me at one point I thought it

might be safer if I turned the lights off be-

cause then at least they wouldnrsquot know

what to aim for During that ride through

the city horns blared all around me andcars driven by madmen desperate to get

to work inched passed me

Cycling manners At t I wa a poit a I cod poi-

bly be lsquorsquocome on guys take your time and

give me a bit of room here after all we

are in this togetherrsquorsquo after about half an

hour of this politeness I managed to get

the sentence down to a couple of choice

words and hand gestures that are under-

stood in most countries Finally after three

hours of madness I managed to reach

the city outskirts and I was completely

lost Following my compass south witha map that was not detailed enough to

show the suburban streets I had to hope

that I wod vtay d a mai ot

Finding heavenIt was now 11am the sun was getting

hot I was tired from that morningrsquos com-

muter adventure and felt it would be goodto hav a ay ih I pottd a ig

that said Jimmies Guest House perfect

I would have somewhere to stay and

hopefully Jimmie could help me with a

detailed route out of the suburbs and

south towards the coast I never found

Jimmy and after an hour of following the

signs I gave up outside the gates to what

B983137983150983143983147983151983147Goodbye

Rob Halkett leaves the Thai capital amid the

sounds of car horns birdsong and ldquohey big spenderrdquo

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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looked like an expensive resort I didnrsquot

care if it cost $1000 a night I just want-

ed off the bike It turned out to be much

cheaper than I thought and would be

the perfect place for an overnight Once

again I was given a small private bunga-

low overlooking a lake The rest of that af-

ternoon was absolute bliss as I watched

birds and other wildlife on the lake

from the comfort of my private balcony

Karaoke contestantsI met the resortrsquos other guests at dinner a

group of pensioners from northern Thai-

land who had traveled down to Bang-kok to perform in a karaoke competition

Karaoke is huge here and every bar or

club and restaurant no matter how big or

small has a karaoke machine Everyone

is welcome to pick up the microphone

and sing I was used to listening to peo-

ple who canrsquot sing perform songs that

should never have been written At din-

ner I listened to ldquomy wayrdquo ldquosomewhere

over the rainbowrdquo ldquosend in the clownsrdquo

and other classic songs from the 50s and

60s sung in Thai it was the most bizarre

evening The group who were all great

fun had brought a professional karaoke

instructor with them and he was busy all

night teaching the contestants how to

sing each song They had noticed that

there was a foreigner in the restaurant

listening to them and clapping at the end

of each song and they were determinedto get me on the stage Fortunately we

cod d othig i egih o th ma-

chine although that was partly my fault

as I had told him to key into the machine

songs by System of a down or Metallica

I went to bed that evening to the sound

of ldquoHey Big Spenderrdquo sung in ThaiBT

For Rob Halkett there is no better way to seethe world than from a bicycle saddle You

can read more stories from his world biketrip at wwwrobsbikeridecom

Photo PAul JeurIssen

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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INTERVIEW

Q If you could come back and

ride anywhere in France where

would you go

A evywh

Q And where would you avoid

A Th otkit of Mai

Q Yoursquove cycled all over the

world ndash how does France rate

when you compare it to all the

other exotic destinations yoursquove

written about

A It vy co to th top of th it

Q In your early days you man-

aged to convince lots of non-cy-

cling friends to undertake some

pretty long rides with you Doyou have any advice for cyclists

who have reluctant partners or

friends theyrsquore trying to cajole

along for a ride

A Pg foth ito th kow ndash

its much more fun and much more

memorable than doing something safeand tedious

Q France has some great

routes for families ndash the Loire

the vineyard routes of Gironde

the greenways of Brittany

Youve got two mini-cyclists

of your own who are clock-

ing up the miles ndash whatrsquos so

great about introducing kids

to cycling

A Fdom advt ig ad

noticing things that they never would

when strapped into a vehicle enjoy-

ing life without being reliant on some

computerized gadget being outdoors in

all weathers It also makes them sleep

exceptionally well

Australian cyclist Lynette Eyb startedwwwfreewheelingfrancecom to help other

bicyclists plan their trips through France

BT

Josie Dew is the author of several popularcycling adventure books such as ldquoTheWind in My Wheels Travel Tales from the

Saddlerdquo and ldquoA Ride in the Neon Sun AGaijin in Japanrdquo For more information see

wwwjosiedewcom

ldquoFrench people like

cyclists even ones

with panniersrdquo

Q What three items canrsquot you

cycle without

A Tt to-cip ad a mii lathma

Q Any nal words of advice for

people thinking about cycling in

France

A Tat with xtm catio th biq-

ito igpot that poit TOuTes

DIreCTIOns How ca yo go i a

directions at once especially when its

pointing in the opposite direction from

the one you want to go

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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BENJAMIN JACOBwwwglobecyclersde

China

Image Roadthe

from

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 2836WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL - JANUARY 201228

FABIAN NAWRATH

wwwafricabybikede

Uganda Image Roadthe

from

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3036WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL - JANUARY 201230

PAUL JEURISSENwwwpauljeurissennl

India

Image Roadthe

from

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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Not being able to go pee barefoot

in the middle of the nightrdquo Aicia ua wwwrodadasnet

ldquoMy WardrobeEvery girl should have more

than 3 sets of clothes to choose from

H loyd httphelenstakeoncom

ldquoNadda nil nix zippo zilch zip

lotta Hdo wwwskalatitudecom

Longing for

My kitchen - as a hungry cyclist

I dream about itrdquoTom Kevill-Davies wwwhungrycyclistcom

ldquoThe comfort of my own toilet

Dennis Koomen

wwwtoko-op-etsvakantienl

Facebook as I do not take a

smartphone on my tripsrdquoDirk van Hulle

wwwfacebookcomdirkvanhulle

Monday morning tube ride into

lodorsquo rat racrdquoHenry Brydon wwwtheblazingsaddlescom

rdquo

ldquo

rdquo

rdquo

rdquo

rdquo

Twitt - it i difct to cyc ad twtrdquoSimon Stewart wwwsilk-wheelscom

Sitting on the coach watchingmovies with my familyrdquoDustin Orrick wwwwork2ridecom

Clearly marked prices when shoppingrdquoFred Spengler

wwwcrazyguyonabikecomonrbikes

ldquoShoes that donrsquot go ldquoclick clickrdquo

when you walk

Guy Moodie wwwabikejourneycom

ldquoNot having to put on

frozen shoes in the morningThoma riy

wwwaroundtheworldforwatercouk

Anything that casts a shadow

resting in the shaderdquoDavid Gregory wwwboomersonbikescom

ldquo A loud stereo - to drown out the sound

of big trucks and noisy carsDave Conroy wwwtiredotca

What do cyclists miss on their trips

ldquoChairman Meowthe coolest cat in Canada

Mike Boles httpmikeonbikewordpresscom

ldquoKnowing the name of the place Irsquom

headed to when asked where Irsquom going

emma Phipott wwwrolling-talescom

Photo PAul JeurIssen

rdquo

rdquo

rdquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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SPEEDSTERS By STEVE FABES

COLUMN

Chances are you have met one Phap yo v a o Had ow back amot hoizota max-

imum two panniers and eyes scanning the trailing asphalt ner-

voy taig tig gac at th odomt Itrsquo th spdt

The

During my journey Irsquove

met many cyclists striving

to ride the length of Africa

in just four months many

others are chasing world

records and several orga-

nized tours have sproutedup in recent years making

The Speedster as ubiqui-

tous in this world as drunk

British nineteen year olds on Gap Years

This entity seems to exist only on

busy highways and dreary uninspir-

ing parts of the world never on rough

roads never in those wild placesWhen we do cross paths the conver-

sation follows a predictable pattern

often beginning with ldquoSo how many ki-

lometres have you comerdquo Followed

swiftly by ldquoAnd how long did that takerdquo

Cue furrowed brow mental arithmetic

is in progress as The Speedster tries to

calculate exactly how many more kilome-

tres they cover per month than you do

Itrsquos a shame that wersquove entered an era

of fast and furious bike adventures I canrsquot

help but wonder whether

people are forgetting what

for me is the ultimate high

of traveling by bicycle - the

slow transition The bicycle

is simply one of the best

mediums to explore a coun-try in detail As one place

slowly merges with another

bicycle travelers watch the

world evolve Why race through To see

a lot but to experience little By setting a

time limit you beef up the challenge but

acic omthig that to m at at i

far more important - the adventure Thetimes I have felt most alive have been

on those dusty tracks at the very edge of

civilization The times Irsquove relished more

than any other have been when Irsquove tak-

en up offers of hospitality from local peo-

ple offers which I presume would often

be declined by the speed freaks all in the

name of a few more miles before sunset

Phap Irsquom vgig o big o of

those conceited know-it-alls the type of

irritating traveler who seems convinced

P h o t o S T E

V E F A B E S

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Dr Steve Fabes aims to cycle the length ofthe 6 continents while raising money for the

UK health charity Merlin You can followSteve at wwwcyclingthe6blogspotcom

CONTRIBUTORSthey are exploring the world in a superior

way than most but why not take more

time to look around Constantly dwell-

ing on distance and on time and on the

future means you forget to be surprised

by the present Why not resist always

taking the shortest or the easiest path

loop a ptti tha taight i

Shrug off that addiction to asphalt Take

time to banter with passersby and every

once in a while take a detour through a

town or village just because it has a fun-

ny sounding name on the map

And to The Speedsters out there I

have a few suggestions to make life eas-ier First off - a urinary catheter to oblit-

erate the need for all those time wast-

ing toilet stops A straw into your mouth

connected to a huge hat containing car-

bo-rich liquidized mush the kind of stuff

NASA gives to its astronauts And lastly

a tiny video camera on the handlebars

recording everything that occurs outsideyo twty dg via d That way

if something interesting happens to your

left or right therersquos no need to turn your

had catig dag ad acicig v-

locity Just watch it on tape afterwards in

the comfort of your own home whilst you

tell your friends and family how amazing

the experience was although you wishthat puncture on the N2 hadnacutet dented

your November average And next time

we meet - have some empathy please

Wersquore not all like you so letrsquos not talk in

numbers Tell me a good story insteadBT

AALDRIK MULDER

ALICIA URREA

ALVARO NEIL

AMAYA WILLIAMS

ANDREW MORGAN

ANDREW SYKES

BENJAMIN JACOB

DAVE CONROY

DAVID GREGORY

DAVID PIPER

DEAN CLEMENTSON

DENNIS KOOMEN

DIRK VAN HULLE

DUSTIN ORRICK

ED BRABANDER

EMMA PHILPOTT

FABIAN NAWRATH

FEARGHAL ONUALLAIN

FRED SPENGLER

FRIEDEL GRANT

GUY MOODIE

HANNA MI JAKOBSON

HARRY WAGENAAR

HELEN LLOYD

HENRIK RISAGER

HENRY BRYDON

JACK MOORE

JANYIS WATSON

JARED MITCHELL

JOSIE DEW

KATIE TIBBETTS

LEONARDO CORRADINI

LIZ WILTON

LORETTA HENDERSON

LYNETTE EYB

MARC FREEDMAN

MIKE BOLES

MIRJAM WOUTERS

PAUL JEURISSEN

RACHEL HUGENS

ROB HALKETT

ROB LUCAS

RUDI VERHAGEN

SCOTT STOLL

SHANE LITTLE

SIMON STEWART

STEVE FABES

THOMAS RILEY

TOM KEVILL-DAVIES

TYLER KELLEN

WILLEM MEGENS

rciv a SHOW IT book

with your FREE subscription to

Bicycle Traveler magazinewwwbicycletravelernl

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3636

Photo FEARGHAL Orsquo NUALLAIN

TravelerBicycle

Parting shot

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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Truckers who traverse the long

barren stretches of desert tarmac

in Chilersquos Atacama Desert do so

much like male dogs canvassing city

blocksndashthey leavehellipuhhhellipbits of them-selveshellipeverywhere they go

Itrsquos impossible to take in an Atacama

viewndashthe scattered black moon rocks

the bone-colored sand dunes the moun-

tains that look as if theyrsquove been ripped

straight out of a Dali landscapendashwithout

oticig th cffd haf-d pa-

tic bottles as well Theyrsquore everywhere (sometimes one can be spotted every

100 yad) ad thyrsquo a d with th

am thig p

Thatrsquos right

P fok

The driest place on Earth is turning

out to be not such a dry a place after all

Itrsquos saturated almost with the urine ofpassing truckers

Thankfully truckers in this part of the

world create urine in hundreds of shades

of solely yellow and orange all hues that

blend nicely with the shifting shades of

the Atacamarsquos sands I have not once

spotted a bottle of the tell-tale bright

green urine of a daily-multi-vitamin-tak-

er Nor have I seen a container weighed

down with the dark brown amber pee of

a Coca-Cola-junkie I donrsquot know what

these drivers are eating and drinking but

whatever it is itrsquos stuff that keeps their

pee Atacama-colored

The problem rests with the plastic

bottles They give the place the feelingof a toilet bowl raised to the power of

two tah ca P th tadim aft

a soccer match minus 10 redwoods In

the middle of the desert in the center of

what should be one of the worldrsquos most

unique arid human-less places I see

liquid traces of lazy men (Irsquom making an

assumption here I know but I think itrsquos a

af o Oy m div ad p at th

same time) Instead of natural nothing-

ness Irsquom seeing lots of human stuff-nessI mt admit thogh sig a of

these bottles of trucker pee all over the

place has inspired my mind to delve into

areas of thought into which it never dared

venture before These are some of the

things I think about when I pass bottle

aft bott of Atacama tck p

1 How in the world do these guys

manage to pee into such small bottles

ad div at th am tim ray how

They must I assume carry (and hopefully

Trucker TracesStory amp Photo ANDREW MORGAN

Cyclist Andrew Morgan discovers that the Atacama desert isnrsquot completely dry

ldquoThatrsquos right

Pee folksrdquo

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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wash every once in a while) funnels

2 Wow that one was incredibly

orange I never in my life have seen that

shade of orange before in pee or any-

where else I wonder if that guyrsquos OK

3 That bottle is so full it clearly has

been used many many times In between

uses for a few weeks where does he

to it I a cp hod ud hi at

4 If Chilean energy drink companies

were smart (are there any Chilean en-

ergy drink companies) they would send

scientists out into the desert to collect

samples from as many bottles of truck-

er pee as possible From the samplestheyrsquod be able to tell what nutrients and

other stuff truckers are lacking in their di-

t Pttig th thig ito a pcica-

ly-designed-for-truckers drink would cre-

ate a hit product one with an uncanny

ability to leave truckers feeling refreshed

5 Hy coondashomo d a mo-

ade bottle with pee that looks exactly likelemonade I mean

exactly Hmmmmhellip

actual lyhellipmaybe

itrsquos just a big bottle

of lemonade that

someone couldnrsquot

ih Wod it b

too risky to openthe thing and smell

it to see if maybe

it is lemonade and

maybe maybe I

could drink it Hmm-

mm Hmmmm Yes

Too iky Dity

6 uggggh I hat

seeing all of this

trash everywhere

If I wa Pidt

Read about Andrew Morganrsquos year-and-a-half long ride through the Americas at

wwwTeacherontwowheelscom A bookabout his trip is due out in 2012

BT

of Chile Irsquod create a pee-bottle recycling

program complete with incentives and

all For each ounce of pee you brought to

a recycling center yoursquod get some sort of

food A piece of carrot cake Or a donut

Not a drink of course but food

If you are a Chilean trucker please for

the love of the two or three animals that

call the Atacama home and all the tourists

all 10 of them who ride bicycles across

it each year please donrsquot throw bottles

of pee out your window while you drive

Stop get out of the truck take a breath

of fresh air and pee into the sand like ev-

eryone else

Thank you Gracias

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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TRIP GEAR

Escaping the dark winter months by

touring Morocco or Mexico is fun but

gttig bt aft yo t day

of cycling isnrsquot Scape is a waterproof

sweat proof sunscreen which will not

rub off and run into your eyes It also

ha th hight uVA potctio of a

sunscreens on the market

Price $1499 US

wwwscapelabscom

Advanced Sunscreen

Th Motai Hadwa utalamia

32 sleeping bag weighs just 1 lb15 oz

(870 gr) and packs down to approximately6 inches (17 cm) long It is designed for

damp cool conditions and is rated to 37

degrees F (3 C)

Price $190 US

Synthetic Sleeping Bag

Sololite One Person TentThe Wild Country Sololite is an inex-

pensive all-season solo tent It weighs

4 lb 35 oz (less than 2 kg) and is over

7 feet (220 cm) long

Price $17849 US

wwwterra-novacouk

A look at equipment for bicycle travelersBy GRACE JOHNSON

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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The Scrubr is a synthetic scouring pad

for cleaning your cooking gear Itrsquos

lightweight odor resistant and drips dry

in minutes The makers of Scrubr write

ldquoWe developed it because we weretired of having to throw away stinky

sponges after one camping triprdquo

Price $275 US

httplunatecgearcom

Scrubr Scouring Pad

Many Asian countries are full of cheaphotels so itrsquos tempting to leave your

camping gear at home Still if you become

stranded a cold night in the open can be

extremely uncomfortable An alternative

i to cay th sOl emgcy Bivy Itrsquo

made from the same material as space

bakt which ct 90 of yo body

heat back to youThe bag packs smalland weighs 38 oz (107 gr)

Price $50 US

wwwadventuremedicalkitscom

Emergency Bivy Bag

TrendyDigitalrsquos SplashGuard case is a

padded pouch with a protective screen

Itrsquos also resistant to water and dust You

can operate the keyboard and naviga-

tion button of your Kindle right through

the case It weighs 45 oz (128 gr) and

the company also makes protective

ca fo th iPad

Price $1599 US

httptrendydigitalcom

Kindle Protection

EQUIPMENT

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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Amonth before we left on our round

the world trip I began thinking ldquowhat

are we going to sit onrdquo After talking it

over with Tara (my wife) we decided our

requirements for a chair were (in order

of impotac) compact iz comfot-

able to sit in and (hopefully) very light

I started at the tip of the camp seatingiceberg by looking what Id used during

a my ai famiy campig tip tho

foldable chairs movie directors are sup-

posed to sit in I found big ones comi-

cally small ones wooden ones steel

ones aluminum ones and countless oth-

er variations before realizing the solution

had to lay elsewhere Delving deeper Idiscovered a dizzying array of options

including hundreds of folding chairs a

weird collapsible sling we tried it it was

awful) chairs with more moving parts

tha a ca ad ay gttig co ot

of th ggd o that md to t

the bill except they were all rather large

Once Id decided that a three leggedchair had the most potential I started

looking for one with telescoping legs I

knew it had to exist It took a lot of hunt-

ing but I eventually found the Swedish

made Walkstool and it had everything

w watd ma coapd iz vy

comfortable seating and thanks to its

amim cotctio ight wight O

of the things I like most about the Walk-

stool is that you can sit on it when the

legs arent extended the perfect height

for working on the drivetrain of your bi-

cycle or preparing dinner on the ground

After six months of use and abuse they

look brand new and work just as well as

they day they arrived at our doorstep I

oy hav o gativ thig to pot

they need better advertising

Walkstool Comfort

WALKSTOOL COMFORT

HEIGHT 18 IN (45 CM)

FOLDED LENGTH 11 IN (28 CM)

WEIGHT 26 OZ (725 GR)

MAXIMUM LOAD 440 LBS (200 KG)

By TYLER KELLEN

Tyler Kellen amp Tara Alan spent two yearscycling around the world Their websitewwwgoingslowlycom is the scrapbook of

their adventures together

GEAR REVIEWS

For further information on the Walkstool

Comfort see wwwwalkstoolcom

BT

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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EQUIPMENT

S

ometimes itrsquos hard to separate the

important accessories from the friv-

olous ones when choosing what to take

on a tour For a long time we put Ort-

liebrsquos 10 litre folding bowl in the sec-

ond category We couldnrsquot imagine why

we needed one

It wasnrsquot until we met a couple with not

one but two folding bowls on tour that we

reconsidered our decisionSince then the

bowl (which comes in 5 litre and 20 litre siz-es as well) has been one of our most reg-

ularly used items What do we use it for

Doig lady sik a oft with-

out plugs or if yoursquore camping you may

not have access to a sink at all The bowl

is great for doing laundry in and you can

fold it together with the clothes inside to

help squeeze out excess waterCoctig wat fo tig W gt

a large amount of water together in the

bow to t ito o bott wh wrsquo

in places where we canrsquot trust the water

showig u th bow to cay v-

erything you need for your shower back

and forth between the bathrooms and

the tent If yoursquore wild camping you canalso use the bowl to collect water from a

stream or river for a bucket shower

Washing Dishes Throw them all in

with a little dish soap and you have an

instant sink or just use the bowl to carry

everything to the washing area

Cleaning Food You can throw large

quantities of vegetables in the bowl to

be washed We use ours a lot for salad

leaves which are too bulky to clean in

our saucepans You can also use the

Ortlieb 10 Litre Folding BowlBy FRIEDEL GRANT

Friedel amp Andrew Grantrsquos extensive website

wwwtravellingtwocom contains their tripreports resources for bicycle travelers andthe e-book ldquoBike Touring Survival Guiderdquo

bowl as an extra serving dish We often

make and dress our salads directly in it

Itrsquos hard to think of a day where we

donrsquot use our Ortlieb Bowl When it isnrsquot

being put to work it folds up into a tri-

angle and sits on top of our camping

mattresses which lie across Friedelrsquos

two back panniers So howrsquos it holding

up After 2 years of constant use our

bowl is showing some signs of wear but

nothing that stops us using it as we wantto The sides are a little saggy but it still

maintains the bowl shape A small hole

did develop in the bottom along the fold

lines of the bowl but we patched it with

our puncture repair kit and havenrsquot had a

problem since

ORTLIEB 10 LITRE FOLDING BOWLWEIGHT 92 OZ (260 GR)

BT

For more information on the folding bowl

see wwwortliebde

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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IcelandWillem Megens and Rudi Verhagen experienceIcelandrsquos dramatic landscape as they cycle

around the Vatnajoumlkull glacierPhotos WILLEM MEGENS amp RUDI VERHAGEN

PHOTO STORY

Photo WILLEM MEGENS

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8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 1636WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL - JANUARY 201216

Watching icebergs drift by at Joumlkulsaacuterloacuten

Photo RUDI VERHAGEN

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8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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65

4

3

2

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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1 The turquoise lake of Kraa

2 Rudi relaxes at Stafafell campsite

3 Willem crosses the Syri Oacutefael river

4 Church near Uljoacutetsvatn

5 Loose sand on the jeep track to

Hviacutetaacuternes lake 6 Curious locals

Willem and Rudi love bicycletouring since it gives them a sense

of freedom and satisfactionYou can see more of their photos

at httpthemeegnl

Photo cdit 2 4 5 Wim Mg

1 3 6 rdi Vhag

1

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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Southern California is a blend of

the athentic and the aticia

The natural landscape continu-

ously shifts between green hills rugged

cliffs and sandy dunes One reoccur-

ring feature is the golf course I imagine

the golf players live in the ritzy and rich

neighborhoods that I passed on the way

such as Monterey with all its grand vil-

las protected by high walls and Malibursquos

fenced in fancy houses that occupy en-

tire beaches I did not go behind those

glamorous facades but outside of them I

met several genuine generous and gor-geous people

As I bicycled past the high walls and

private beaches the Big Sur coast ap-

peared in all its simple beauty The luxury

life sometimes drove by me in the shape

of fast cars that looked like bat-mobiles

and suV the ength of imoine sti

I cycled on with the help of the wind Itpushed me up the high hills and treated

me with splendid views from the top be-

fore blowing me back down to sea level

The scenery was spectacular with water-

falls plunging into the ocean waves that

invited me in for a salty bath and camp

grounds with the star lit sky as the only

light source

Californiarsquos animals are full of charac-

ter Cute and clever raccoons ran their

nightly raids in search of food around my

tent During the day frisky squirrels jumped

in the ed and azy eephant ea took

naps on the beach The city animals

have had a make-over to match the de-

signer handbags that they sit in Spoiled

pets were pampered in cat-spas in glitzy

lo Angee and ate gazed dog bicit

from the bakeries of wealthy Carmel In

the beach town of Solana pet owners

could even book a consultation for advice

on reducing the climate change impact

of their animalrsquos high carbon lifestyle

All of the pets and people who peek out

from a fashionable handbag gaze over aprotective wall watch through their bat-

mobile car window or look beyond the

aticia andcape of a gof coe can

still enjoy the true beauty of California

the coast For me it was amazing to see

eappeaing view of the Pacic Ocean It

was there next to the Santa Barbara col-

lege house that I stayed in It was thereas I stretched my calves and thighs after

climbing the Big Sur hills It was there as

I hng ot by the kateboad pak at Ven-

ice Beach It was there as I dried in the

sun after a swim near San Diego and it

will continue to be by my side as I start

cycling through the beauty of Mexico

C A L I F O R N I A N

B E A U T Y

You can follow Hanna Mi Jakobsonrsquosfurther trans-American travels atwwwhannamijakobsoncom

Swedish journalist Hanna Mi Jakobson cycled

the Californian coast in search of new views

BT

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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P h o t o s H A

N N A M I J A K O B S O N

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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As I had been staying in northern

Bangkok it meant that I had to

ride through the city center and

out the other side when it was time to go

I hoped that by leaving at 630am I would

miss all the early morning commuter traf-

c How wog cod I b Fom th mo-ment I left the safety of the hotel car park

I wa attackd by tafc ev with a

my bicycle lights blazing the drivers still

couldnrsquot see me at one point I thought it

might be safer if I turned the lights off be-

cause then at least they wouldnrsquot know

what to aim for During that ride through

the city horns blared all around me andcars driven by madmen desperate to get

to work inched passed me

Cycling manners At t I wa a poit a I cod poi-

bly be lsquorsquocome on guys take your time and

give me a bit of room here after all we

are in this togetherrsquorsquo after about half an

hour of this politeness I managed to get

the sentence down to a couple of choice

words and hand gestures that are under-

stood in most countries Finally after three

hours of madness I managed to reach

the city outskirts and I was completely

lost Following my compass south witha map that was not detailed enough to

show the suburban streets I had to hope

that I wod vtay d a mai ot

Finding heavenIt was now 11am the sun was getting

hot I was tired from that morningrsquos com-

muter adventure and felt it would be goodto hav a ay ih I pottd a ig

that said Jimmies Guest House perfect

I would have somewhere to stay and

hopefully Jimmie could help me with a

detailed route out of the suburbs and

south towards the coast I never found

Jimmy and after an hour of following the

signs I gave up outside the gates to what

B983137983150983143983147983151983147Goodbye

Rob Halkett leaves the Thai capital amid the

sounds of car horns birdsong and ldquohey big spenderrdquo

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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looked like an expensive resort I didnrsquot

care if it cost $1000 a night I just want-

ed off the bike It turned out to be much

cheaper than I thought and would be

the perfect place for an overnight Once

again I was given a small private bunga-

low overlooking a lake The rest of that af-

ternoon was absolute bliss as I watched

birds and other wildlife on the lake

from the comfort of my private balcony

Karaoke contestantsI met the resortrsquos other guests at dinner a

group of pensioners from northern Thai-

land who had traveled down to Bang-kok to perform in a karaoke competition

Karaoke is huge here and every bar or

club and restaurant no matter how big or

small has a karaoke machine Everyone

is welcome to pick up the microphone

and sing I was used to listening to peo-

ple who canrsquot sing perform songs that

should never have been written At din-

ner I listened to ldquomy wayrdquo ldquosomewhere

over the rainbowrdquo ldquosend in the clownsrdquo

and other classic songs from the 50s and

60s sung in Thai it was the most bizarre

evening The group who were all great

fun had brought a professional karaoke

instructor with them and he was busy all

night teaching the contestants how to

sing each song They had noticed that

there was a foreigner in the restaurant

listening to them and clapping at the end

of each song and they were determinedto get me on the stage Fortunately we

cod d othig i egih o th ma-

chine although that was partly my fault

as I had told him to key into the machine

songs by System of a down or Metallica

I went to bed that evening to the sound

of ldquoHey Big Spenderrdquo sung in ThaiBT

For Rob Halkett there is no better way to seethe world than from a bicycle saddle You

can read more stories from his world biketrip at wwwrobsbikeridecom

Photo PAul JeurIssen

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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INTERVIEW

Q If you could come back and

ride anywhere in France where

would you go

A evywh

Q And where would you avoid

A Th otkit of Mai

Q Yoursquove cycled all over the

world ndash how does France rate

when you compare it to all the

other exotic destinations yoursquove

written about

A It vy co to th top of th it

Q In your early days you man-

aged to convince lots of non-cy-

cling friends to undertake some

pretty long rides with you Doyou have any advice for cyclists

who have reluctant partners or

friends theyrsquore trying to cajole

along for a ride

A Pg foth ito th kow ndash

its much more fun and much more

memorable than doing something safeand tedious

Q France has some great

routes for families ndash the Loire

the vineyard routes of Gironde

the greenways of Brittany

Youve got two mini-cyclists

of your own who are clock-

ing up the miles ndash whatrsquos so

great about introducing kids

to cycling

A Fdom advt ig ad

noticing things that they never would

when strapped into a vehicle enjoy-

ing life without being reliant on some

computerized gadget being outdoors in

all weathers It also makes them sleep

exceptionally well

Australian cyclist Lynette Eyb startedwwwfreewheelingfrancecom to help other

bicyclists plan their trips through France

BT

Josie Dew is the author of several popularcycling adventure books such as ldquoTheWind in My Wheels Travel Tales from the

Saddlerdquo and ldquoA Ride in the Neon Sun AGaijin in Japanrdquo For more information see

wwwjosiedewcom

ldquoFrench people like

cyclists even ones

with panniersrdquo

Q What three items canrsquot you

cycle without

A Tt to-cip ad a mii lathma

Q Any nal words of advice for

people thinking about cycling in

France

A Tat with xtm catio th biq-

ito igpot that poit TOuTes

DIreCTIOns How ca yo go i a

directions at once especially when its

pointing in the opposite direction from

the one you want to go

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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BENJAMIN JACOBwwwglobecyclersde

China

Image Roadthe

from

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8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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FABIAN NAWRATH

wwwafricabybikede

Uganda Image Roadthe

from

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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PAUL JEURISSENwwwpauljeurissennl

India

Image Roadthe

from

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8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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Not being able to go pee barefoot

in the middle of the nightrdquo Aicia ua wwwrodadasnet

ldquoMy WardrobeEvery girl should have more

than 3 sets of clothes to choose from

H loyd httphelenstakeoncom

ldquoNadda nil nix zippo zilch zip

lotta Hdo wwwskalatitudecom

Longing for

My kitchen - as a hungry cyclist

I dream about itrdquoTom Kevill-Davies wwwhungrycyclistcom

ldquoThe comfort of my own toilet

Dennis Koomen

wwwtoko-op-etsvakantienl

Facebook as I do not take a

smartphone on my tripsrdquoDirk van Hulle

wwwfacebookcomdirkvanhulle

Monday morning tube ride into

lodorsquo rat racrdquoHenry Brydon wwwtheblazingsaddlescom

rdquo

ldquo

rdquo

rdquo

rdquo

rdquo

Twitt - it i difct to cyc ad twtrdquoSimon Stewart wwwsilk-wheelscom

Sitting on the coach watchingmovies with my familyrdquoDustin Orrick wwwwork2ridecom

Clearly marked prices when shoppingrdquoFred Spengler

wwwcrazyguyonabikecomonrbikes

ldquoShoes that donrsquot go ldquoclick clickrdquo

when you walk

Guy Moodie wwwabikejourneycom

ldquoNot having to put on

frozen shoes in the morningThoma riy

wwwaroundtheworldforwatercouk

Anything that casts a shadow

resting in the shaderdquoDavid Gregory wwwboomersonbikescom

ldquo A loud stereo - to drown out the sound

of big trucks and noisy carsDave Conroy wwwtiredotca

What do cyclists miss on their trips

ldquoChairman Meowthe coolest cat in Canada

Mike Boles httpmikeonbikewordpresscom

ldquoKnowing the name of the place Irsquom

headed to when asked where Irsquom going

emma Phipott wwwrolling-talescom

Photo PAul JeurIssen

rdquo

rdquo

rdquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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SPEEDSTERS By STEVE FABES

COLUMN

Chances are you have met one Phap yo v a o Had ow back amot hoizota max-

imum two panniers and eyes scanning the trailing asphalt ner-

voy taig tig gac at th odomt Itrsquo th spdt

The

During my journey Irsquove

met many cyclists striving

to ride the length of Africa

in just four months many

others are chasing world

records and several orga-

nized tours have sproutedup in recent years making

The Speedster as ubiqui-

tous in this world as drunk

British nineteen year olds on Gap Years

This entity seems to exist only on

busy highways and dreary uninspir-

ing parts of the world never on rough

roads never in those wild placesWhen we do cross paths the conver-

sation follows a predictable pattern

often beginning with ldquoSo how many ki-

lometres have you comerdquo Followed

swiftly by ldquoAnd how long did that takerdquo

Cue furrowed brow mental arithmetic

is in progress as The Speedster tries to

calculate exactly how many more kilome-

tres they cover per month than you do

Itrsquos a shame that wersquove entered an era

of fast and furious bike adventures I canrsquot

help but wonder whether

people are forgetting what

for me is the ultimate high

of traveling by bicycle - the

slow transition The bicycle

is simply one of the best

mediums to explore a coun-try in detail As one place

slowly merges with another

bicycle travelers watch the

world evolve Why race through To see

a lot but to experience little By setting a

time limit you beef up the challenge but

acic omthig that to m at at i

far more important - the adventure Thetimes I have felt most alive have been

on those dusty tracks at the very edge of

civilization The times Irsquove relished more

than any other have been when Irsquove tak-

en up offers of hospitality from local peo-

ple offers which I presume would often

be declined by the speed freaks all in the

name of a few more miles before sunset

Phap Irsquom vgig o big o of

those conceited know-it-alls the type of

irritating traveler who seems convinced

P h o t o S T E

V E F A B E S

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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Dr Steve Fabes aims to cycle the length ofthe 6 continents while raising money for the

UK health charity Merlin You can followSteve at wwwcyclingthe6blogspotcom

CONTRIBUTORSthey are exploring the world in a superior

way than most but why not take more

time to look around Constantly dwell-

ing on distance and on time and on the

future means you forget to be surprised

by the present Why not resist always

taking the shortest or the easiest path

loop a ptti tha taight i

Shrug off that addiction to asphalt Take

time to banter with passersby and every

once in a while take a detour through a

town or village just because it has a fun-

ny sounding name on the map

And to The Speedsters out there I

have a few suggestions to make life eas-ier First off - a urinary catheter to oblit-

erate the need for all those time wast-

ing toilet stops A straw into your mouth

connected to a huge hat containing car-

bo-rich liquidized mush the kind of stuff

NASA gives to its astronauts And lastly

a tiny video camera on the handlebars

recording everything that occurs outsideyo twty dg via d That way

if something interesting happens to your

left or right therersquos no need to turn your

had catig dag ad acicig v-

locity Just watch it on tape afterwards in

the comfort of your own home whilst you

tell your friends and family how amazing

the experience was although you wishthat puncture on the N2 hadnacutet dented

your November average And next time

we meet - have some empathy please

Wersquore not all like you so letrsquos not talk in

numbers Tell me a good story insteadBT

AALDRIK MULDER

ALICIA URREA

ALVARO NEIL

AMAYA WILLIAMS

ANDREW MORGAN

ANDREW SYKES

BENJAMIN JACOB

DAVE CONROY

DAVID GREGORY

DAVID PIPER

DEAN CLEMENTSON

DENNIS KOOMEN

DIRK VAN HULLE

DUSTIN ORRICK

ED BRABANDER

EMMA PHILPOTT

FABIAN NAWRATH

FEARGHAL ONUALLAIN

FRED SPENGLER

FRIEDEL GRANT

GUY MOODIE

HANNA MI JAKOBSON

HARRY WAGENAAR

HELEN LLOYD

HENRIK RISAGER

HENRY BRYDON

JACK MOORE

JANYIS WATSON

JARED MITCHELL

JOSIE DEW

KATIE TIBBETTS

LEONARDO CORRADINI

LIZ WILTON

LORETTA HENDERSON

LYNETTE EYB

MARC FREEDMAN

MIKE BOLES

MIRJAM WOUTERS

PAUL JEURISSEN

RACHEL HUGENS

ROB HALKETT

ROB LUCAS

RUDI VERHAGEN

SCOTT STOLL

SHANE LITTLE

SIMON STEWART

STEVE FABES

THOMAS RILEY

TOM KEVILL-DAVIES

TYLER KELLEN

WILLEM MEGENS

rciv a SHOW IT book

with your FREE subscription to

Bicycle Traveler magazinewwwbicycletravelernl

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3636

Photo FEARGHAL Orsquo NUALLAIN

TravelerBicycle

Parting shot

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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wash every once in a while) funnels

2 Wow that one was incredibly

orange I never in my life have seen that

shade of orange before in pee or any-

where else I wonder if that guyrsquos OK

3 That bottle is so full it clearly has

been used many many times In between

uses for a few weeks where does he

to it I a cp hod ud hi at

4 If Chilean energy drink companies

were smart (are there any Chilean en-

ergy drink companies) they would send

scientists out into the desert to collect

samples from as many bottles of truck-

er pee as possible From the samplestheyrsquod be able to tell what nutrients and

other stuff truckers are lacking in their di-

t Pttig th thig ito a pcica-

ly-designed-for-truckers drink would cre-

ate a hit product one with an uncanny

ability to leave truckers feeling refreshed

5 Hy coondashomo d a mo-

ade bottle with pee that looks exactly likelemonade I mean

exactly Hmmmmhellip

actual lyhellipmaybe

itrsquos just a big bottle

of lemonade that

someone couldnrsquot

ih Wod it b

too risky to openthe thing and smell

it to see if maybe

it is lemonade and

maybe maybe I

could drink it Hmm-

mm Hmmmm Yes

Too iky Dity

6 uggggh I hat

seeing all of this

trash everywhere

If I wa Pidt

Read about Andrew Morganrsquos year-and-a-half long ride through the Americas at

wwwTeacherontwowheelscom A bookabout his trip is due out in 2012

BT

of Chile Irsquod create a pee-bottle recycling

program complete with incentives and

all For each ounce of pee you brought to

a recycling center yoursquod get some sort of

food A piece of carrot cake Or a donut

Not a drink of course but food

If you are a Chilean trucker please for

the love of the two or three animals that

call the Atacama home and all the tourists

all 10 of them who ride bicycles across

it each year please donrsquot throw bottles

of pee out your window while you drive

Stop get out of the truck take a breath

of fresh air and pee into the sand like ev-

eryone else

Thank you Gracias

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TRIP GEAR

Escaping the dark winter months by

touring Morocco or Mexico is fun but

gttig bt aft yo t day

of cycling isnrsquot Scape is a waterproof

sweat proof sunscreen which will not

rub off and run into your eyes It also

ha th hight uVA potctio of a

sunscreens on the market

Price $1499 US

wwwscapelabscom

Advanced Sunscreen

Th Motai Hadwa utalamia

32 sleeping bag weighs just 1 lb15 oz

(870 gr) and packs down to approximately6 inches (17 cm) long It is designed for

damp cool conditions and is rated to 37

degrees F (3 C)

Price $190 US

Synthetic Sleeping Bag

Sololite One Person TentThe Wild Country Sololite is an inex-

pensive all-season solo tent It weighs

4 lb 35 oz (less than 2 kg) and is over

7 feet (220 cm) long

Price $17849 US

wwwterra-novacouk

A look at equipment for bicycle travelersBy GRACE JOHNSON

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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The Scrubr is a synthetic scouring pad

for cleaning your cooking gear Itrsquos

lightweight odor resistant and drips dry

in minutes The makers of Scrubr write

ldquoWe developed it because we weretired of having to throw away stinky

sponges after one camping triprdquo

Price $275 US

httplunatecgearcom

Scrubr Scouring Pad

Many Asian countries are full of cheaphotels so itrsquos tempting to leave your

camping gear at home Still if you become

stranded a cold night in the open can be

extremely uncomfortable An alternative

i to cay th sOl emgcy Bivy Itrsquo

made from the same material as space

bakt which ct 90 of yo body

heat back to youThe bag packs smalland weighs 38 oz (107 gr)

Price $50 US

wwwadventuremedicalkitscom

Emergency Bivy Bag

TrendyDigitalrsquos SplashGuard case is a

padded pouch with a protective screen

Itrsquos also resistant to water and dust You

can operate the keyboard and naviga-

tion button of your Kindle right through

the case It weighs 45 oz (128 gr) and

the company also makes protective

ca fo th iPad

Price $1599 US

httptrendydigitalcom

Kindle Protection

EQUIPMENT

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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Amonth before we left on our round

the world trip I began thinking ldquowhat

are we going to sit onrdquo After talking it

over with Tara (my wife) we decided our

requirements for a chair were (in order

of impotac) compact iz comfot-

able to sit in and (hopefully) very light

I started at the tip of the camp seatingiceberg by looking what Id used during

a my ai famiy campig tip tho

foldable chairs movie directors are sup-

posed to sit in I found big ones comi-

cally small ones wooden ones steel

ones aluminum ones and countless oth-

er variations before realizing the solution

had to lay elsewhere Delving deeper Idiscovered a dizzying array of options

including hundreds of folding chairs a

weird collapsible sling we tried it it was

awful) chairs with more moving parts

tha a ca ad ay gttig co ot

of th ggd o that md to t

the bill except they were all rather large

Once Id decided that a three leggedchair had the most potential I started

looking for one with telescoping legs I

knew it had to exist It took a lot of hunt-

ing but I eventually found the Swedish

made Walkstool and it had everything

w watd ma coapd iz vy

comfortable seating and thanks to its

amim cotctio ight wight O

of the things I like most about the Walk-

stool is that you can sit on it when the

legs arent extended the perfect height

for working on the drivetrain of your bi-

cycle or preparing dinner on the ground

After six months of use and abuse they

look brand new and work just as well as

they day they arrived at our doorstep I

oy hav o gativ thig to pot

they need better advertising

Walkstool Comfort

WALKSTOOL COMFORT

HEIGHT 18 IN (45 CM)

FOLDED LENGTH 11 IN (28 CM)

WEIGHT 26 OZ (725 GR)

MAXIMUM LOAD 440 LBS (200 KG)

By TYLER KELLEN

Tyler Kellen amp Tara Alan spent two yearscycling around the world Their websitewwwgoingslowlycom is the scrapbook of

their adventures together

GEAR REVIEWS

For further information on the Walkstool

Comfort see wwwwalkstoolcom

BT

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EQUIPMENT

S

ometimes itrsquos hard to separate the

important accessories from the friv-

olous ones when choosing what to take

on a tour For a long time we put Ort-

liebrsquos 10 litre folding bowl in the sec-

ond category We couldnrsquot imagine why

we needed one

It wasnrsquot until we met a couple with not

one but two folding bowls on tour that we

reconsidered our decisionSince then the

bowl (which comes in 5 litre and 20 litre siz-es as well) has been one of our most reg-

ularly used items What do we use it for

Doig lady sik a oft with-

out plugs or if yoursquore camping you may

not have access to a sink at all The bowl

is great for doing laundry in and you can

fold it together with the clothes inside to

help squeeze out excess waterCoctig wat fo tig W gt

a large amount of water together in the

bow to t ito o bott wh wrsquo

in places where we canrsquot trust the water

showig u th bow to cay v-

erything you need for your shower back

and forth between the bathrooms and

the tent If yoursquore wild camping you canalso use the bowl to collect water from a

stream or river for a bucket shower

Washing Dishes Throw them all in

with a little dish soap and you have an

instant sink or just use the bowl to carry

everything to the washing area

Cleaning Food You can throw large

quantities of vegetables in the bowl to

be washed We use ours a lot for salad

leaves which are too bulky to clean in

our saucepans You can also use the

Ortlieb 10 Litre Folding BowlBy FRIEDEL GRANT

Friedel amp Andrew Grantrsquos extensive website

wwwtravellingtwocom contains their tripreports resources for bicycle travelers andthe e-book ldquoBike Touring Survival Guiderdquo

bowl as an extra serving dish We often

make and dress our salads directly in it

Itrsquos hard to think of a day where we

donrsquot use our Ortlieb Bowl When it isnrsquot

being put to work it folds up into a tri-

angle and sits on top of our camping

mattresses which lie across Friedelrsquos

two back panniers So howrsquos it holding

up After 2 years of constant use our

bowl is showing some signs of wear but

nothing that stops us using it as we wantto The sides are a little saggy but it still

maintains the bowl shape A small hole

did develop in the bottom along the fold

lines of the bowl but we patched it with

our puncture repair kit and havenrsquot had a

problem since

ORTLIEB 10 LITRE FOLDING BOWLWEIGHT 92 OZ (260 GR)

BT

For more information on the folding bowl

see wwwortliebde

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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IcelandWillem Megens and Rudi Verhagen experienceIcelandrsquos dramatic landscape as they cycle

around the Vatnajoumlkull glacierPhotos WILLEM MEGENS amp RUDI VERHAGEN

PHOTO STORY

Photo WILLEM MEGENS

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8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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Watching icebergs drift by at Joumlkulsaacuterloacuten

Photo RUDI VERHAGEN

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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65

4

3

2

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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1 The turquoise lake of Kraa

2 Rudi relaxes at Stafafell campsite

3 Willem crosses the Syri Oacutefael river

4 Church near Uljoacutetsvatn

5 Loose sand on the jeep track to

Hviacutetaacuternes lake 6 Curious locals

Willem and Rudi love bicycletouring since it gives them a sense

of freedom and satisfactionYou can see more of their photos

at httpthemeegnl

Photo cdit 2 4 5 Wim Mg

1 3 6 rdi Vhag

1

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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Southern California is a blend of

the athentic and the aticia

The natural landscape continu-

ously shifts between green hills rugged

cliffs and sandy dunes One reoccur-

ring feature is the golf course I imagine

the golf players live in the ritzy and rich

neighborhoods that I passed on the way

such as Monterey with all its grand vil-

las protected by high walls and Malibursquos

fenced in fancy houses that occupy en-

tire beaches I did not go behind those

glamorous facades but outside of them I

met several genuine generous and gor-geous people

As I bicycled past the high walls and

private beaches the Big Sur coast ap-

peared in all its simple beauty The luxury

life sometimes drove by me in the shape

of fast cars that looked like bat-mobiles

and suV the ength of imoine sti

I cycled on with the help of the wind Itpushed me up the high hills and treated

me with splendid views from the top be-

fore blowing me back down to sea level

The scenery was spectacular with water-

falls plunging into the ocean waves that

invited me in for a salty bath and camp

grounds with the star lit sky as the only

light source

Californiarsquos animals are full of charac-

ter Cute and clever raccoons ran their

nightly raids in search of food around my

tent During the day frisky squirrels jumped

in the ed and azy eephant ea took

naps on the beach The city animals

have had a make-over to match the de-

signer handbags that they sit in Spoiled

pets were pampered in cat-spas in glitzy

lo Angee and ate gazed dog bicit

from the bakeries of wealthy Carmel In

the beach town of Solana pet owners

could even book a consultation for advice

on reducing the climate change impact

of their animalrsquos high carbon lifestyle

All of the pets and people who peek out

from a fashionable handbag gaze over aprotective wall watch through their bat-

mobile car window or look beyond the

aticia andcape of a gof coe can

still enjoy the true beauty of California

the coast For me it was amazing to see

eappeaing view of the Pacic Ocean It

was there next to the Santa Barbara col-

lege house that I stayed in It was thereas I stretched my calves and thighs after

climbing the Big Sur hills It was there as

I hng ot by the kateboad pak at Ven-

ice Beach It was there as I dried in the

sun after a swim near San Diego and it

will continue to be by my side as I start

cycling through the beauty of Mexico

C A L I F O R N I A N

B E A U T Y

You can follow Hanna Mi Jakobsonrsquosfurther trans-American travels atwwwhannamijakobsoncom

Swedish journalist Hanna Mi Jakobson cycled

the Californian coast in search of new views

BT

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P h o t o s H A

N N A M I J A K O B S O N

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As I had been staying in northern

Bangkok it meant that I had to

ride through the city center and

out the other side when it was time to go

I hoped that by leaving at 630am I would

miss all the early morning commuter traf-

c How wog cod I b Fom th mo-ment I left the safety of the hotel car park

I wa attackd by tafc ev with a

my bicycle lights blazing the drivers still

couldnrsquot see me at one point I thought it

might be safer if I turned the lights off be-

cause then at least they wouldnrsquot know

what to aim for During that ride through

the city horns blared all around me andcars driven by madmen desperate to get

to work inched passed me

Cycling manners At t I wa a poit a I cod poi-

bly be lsquorsquocome on guys take your time and

give me a bit of room here after all we

are in this togetherrsquorsquo after about half an

hour of this politeness I managed to get

the sentence down to a couple of choice

words and hand gestures that are under-

stood in most countries Finally after three

hours of madness I managed to reach

the city outskirts and I was completely

lost Following my compass south witha map that was not detailed enough to

show the suburban streets I had to hope

that I wod vtay d a mai ot

Finding heavenIt was now 11am the sun was getting

hot I was tired from that morningrsquos com-

muter adventure and felt it would be goodto hav a ay ih I pottd a ig

that said Jimmies Guest House perfect

I would have somewhere to stay and

hopefully Jimmie could help me with a

detailed route out of the suburbs and

south towards the coast I never found

Jimmy and after an hour of following the

signs I gave up outside the gates to what

B983137983150983143983147983151983147Goodbye

Rob Halkett leaves the Thai capital amid the

sounds of car horns birdsong and ldquohey big spenderrdquo

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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looked like an expensive resort I didnrsquot

care if it cost $1000 a night I just want-

ed off the bike It turned out to be much

cheaper than I thought and would be

the perfect place for an overnight Once

again I was given a small private bunga-

low overlooking a lake The rest of that af-

ternoon was absolute bliss as I watched

birds and other wildlife on the lake

from the comfort of my private balcony

Karaoke contestantsI met the resortrsquos other guests at dinner a

group of pensioners from northern Thai-

land who had traveled down to Bang-kok to perform in a karaoke competition

Karaoke is huge here and every bar or

club and restaurant no matter how big or

small has a karaoke machine Everyone

is welcome to pick up the microphone

and sing I was used to listening to peo-

ple who canrsquot sing perform songs that

should never have been written At din-

ner I listened to ldquomy wayrdquo ldquosomewhere

over the rainbowrdquo ldquosend in the clownsrdquo

and other classic songs from the 50s and

60s sung in Thai it was the most bizarre

evening The group who were all great

fun had brought a professional karaoke

instructor with them and he was busy all

night teaching the contestants how to

sing each song They had noticed that

there was a foreigner in the restaurant

listening to them and clapping at the end

of each song and they were determinedto get me on the stage Fortunately we

cod d othig i egih o th ma-

chine although that was partly my fault

as I had told him to key into the machine

songs by System of a down or Metallica

I went to bed that evening to the sound

of ldquoHey Big Spenderrdquo sung in ThaiBT

For Rob Halkett there is no better way to seethe world than from a bicycle saddle You

can read more stories from his world biketrip at wwwrobsbikeridecom

Photo PAul JeurIssen

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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INTERVIEW

Q If you could come back and

ride anywhere in France where

would you go

A evywh

Q And where would you avoid

A Th otkit of Mai

Q Yoursquove cycled all over the

world ndash how does France rate

when you compare it to all the

other exotic destinations yoursquove

written about

A It vy co to th top of th it

Q In your early days you man-

aged to convince lots of non-cy-

cling friends to undertake some

pretty long rides with you Doyou have any advice for cyclists

who have reluctant partners or

friends theyrsquore trying to cajole

along for a ride

A Pg foth ito th kow ndash

its much more fun and much more

memorable than doing something safeand tedious

Q France has some great

routes for families ndash the Loire

the vineyard routes of Gironde

the greenways of Brittany

Youve got two mini-cyclists

of your own who are clock-

ing up the miles ndash whatrsquos so

great about introducing kids

to cycling

A Fdom advt ig ad

noticing things that they never would

when strapped into a vehicle enjoy-

ing life without being reliant on some

computerized gadget being outdoors in

all weathers It also makes them sleep

exceptionally well

Australian cyclist Lynette Eyb startedwwwfreewheelingfrancecom to help other

bicyclists plan their trips through France

BT

Josie Dew is the author of several popularcycling adventure books such as ldquoTheWind in My Wheels Travel Tales from the

Saddlerdquo and ldquoA Ride in the Neon Sun AGaijin in Japanrdquo For more information see

wwwjosiedewcom

ldquoFrench people like

cyclists even ones

with panniersrdquo

Q What three items canrsquot you

cycle without

A Tt to-cip ad a mii lathma

Q Any nal words of advice for

people thinking about cycling in

France

A Tat with xtm catio th biq-

ito igpot that poit TOuTes

DIreCTIOns How ca yo go i a

directions at once especially when its

pointing in the opposite direction from

the one you want to go

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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BENJAMIN JACOBwwwglobecyclersde

China

Image Roadthe

from

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8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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FABIAN NAWRATH

wwwafricabybikede

Uganda Image Roadthe

from

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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PAUL JEURISSENwwwpauljeurissennl

India

Image Roadthe

from

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8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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Not being able to go pee barefoot

in the middle of the nightrdquo Aicia ua wwwrodadasnet

ldquoMy WardrobeEvery girl should have more

than 3 sets of clothes to choose from

H loyd httphelenstakeoncom

ldquoNadda nil nix zippo zilch zip

lotta Hdo wwwskalatitudecom

Longing for

My kitchen - as a hungry cyclist

I dream about itrdquoTom Kevill-Davies wwwhungrycyclistcom

ldquoThe comfort of my own toilet

Dennis Koomen

wwwtoko-op-etsvakantienl

Facebook as I do not take a

smartphone on my tripsrdquoDirk van Hulle

wwwfacebookcomdirkvanhulle

Monday morning tube ride into

lodorsquo rat racrdquoHenry Brydon wwwtheblazingsaddlescom

rdquo

ldquo

rdquo

rdquo

rdquo

rdquo

Twitt - it i difct to cyc ad twtrdquoSimon Stewart wwwsilk-wheelscom

Sitting on the coach watchingmovies with my familyrdquoDustin Orrick wwwwork2ridecom

Clearly marked prices when shoppingrdquoFred Spengler

wwwcrazyguyonabikecomonrbikes

ldquoShoes that donrsquot go ldquoclick clickrdquo

when you walk

Guy Moodie wwwabikejourneycom

ldquoNot having to put on

frozen shoes in the morningThoma riy

wwwaroundtheworldforwatercouk

Anything that casts a shadow

resting in the shaderdquoDavid Gregory wwwboomersonbikescom

ldquo A loud stereo - to drown out the sound

of big trucks and noisy carsDave Conroy wwwtiredotca

What do cyclists miss on their trips

ldquoChairman Meowthe coolest cat in Canada

Mike Boles httpmikeonbikewordpresscom

ldquoKnowing the name of the place Irsquom

headed to when asked where Irsquom going

emma Phipott wwwrolling-talescom

Photo PAul JeurIssen

rdquo

rdquo

rdquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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SPEEDSTERS By STEVE FABES

COLUMN

Chances are you have met one Phap yo v a o Had ow back amot hoizota max-

imum two panniers and eyes scanning the trailing asphalt ner-

voy taig tig gac at th odomt Itrsquo th spdt

The

During my journey Irsquove

met many cyclists striving

to ride the length of Africa

in just four months many

others are chasing world

records and several orga-

nized tours have sproutedup in recent years making

The Speedster as ubiqui-

tous in this world as drunk

British nineteen year olds on Gap Years

This entity seems to exist only on

busy highways and dreary uninspir-

ing parts of the world never on rough

roads never in those wild placesWhen we do cross paths the conver-

sation follows a predictable pattern

often beginning with ldquoSo how many ki-

lometres have you comerdquo Followed

swiftly by ldquoAnd how long did that takerdquo

Cue furrowed brow mental arithmetic

is in progress as The Speedster tries to

calculate exactly how many more kilome-

tres they cover per month than you do

Itrsquos a shame that wersquove entered an era

of fast and furious bike adventures I canrsquot

help but wonder whether

people are forgetting what

for me is the ultimate high

of traveling by bicycle - the

slow transition The bicycle

is simply one of the best

mediums to explore a coun-try in detail As one place

slowly merges with another

bicycle travelers watch the

world evolve Why race through To see

a lot but to experience little By setting a

time limit you beef up the challenge but

acic omthig that to m at at i

far more important - the adventure Thetimes I have felt most alive have been

on those dusty tracks at the very edge of

civilization The times Irsquove relished more

than any other have been when Irsquove tak-

en up offers of hospitality from local peo-

ple offers which I presume would often

be declined by the speed freaks all in the

name of a few more miles before sunset

Phap Irsquom vgig o big o of

those conceited know-it-alls the type of

irritating traveler who seems convinced

P h o t o S T E

V E F A B E S

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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Dr Steve Fabes aims to cycle the length ofthe 6 continents while raising money for the

UK health charity Merlin You can followSteve at wwwcyclingthe6blogspotcom

CONTRIBUTORSthey are exploring the world in a superior

way than most but why not take more

time to look around Constantly dwell-

ing on distance and on time and on the

future means you forget to be surprised

by the present Why not resist always

taking the shortest or the easiest path

loop a ptti tha taight i

Shrug off that addiction to asphalt Take

time to banter with passersby and every

once in a while take a detour through a

town or village just because it has a fun-

ny sounding name on the map

And to The Speedsters out there I

have a few suggestions to make life eas-ier First off - a urinary catheter to oblit-

erate the need for all those time wast-

ing toilet stops A straw into your mouth

connected to a huge hat containing car-

bo-rich liquidized mush the kind of stuff

NASA gives to its astronauts And lastly

a tiny video camera on the handlebars

recording everything that occurs outsideyo twty dg via d That way

if something interesting happens to your

left or right therersquos no need to turn your

had catig dag ad acicig v-

locity Just watch it on tape afterwards in

the comfort of your own home whilst you

tell your friends and family how amazing

the experience was although you wishthat puncture on the N2 hadnacutet dented

your November average And next time

we meet - have some empathy please

Wersquore not all like you so letrsquos not talk in

numbers Tell me a good story insteadBT

AALDRIK MULDER

ALICIA URREA

ALVARO NEIL

AMAYA WILLIAMS

ANDREW MORGAN

ANDREW SYKES

BENJAMIN JACOB

DAVE CONROY

DAVID GREGORY

DAVID PIPER

DEAN CLEMENTSON

DENNIS KOOMEN

DIRK VAN HULLE

DUSTIN ORRICK

ED BRABANDER

EMMA PHILPOTT

FABIAN NAWRATH

FEARGHAL ONUALLAIN

FRED SPENGLER

FRIEDEL GRANT

GUY MOODIE

HANNA MI JAKOBSON

HARRY WAGENAAR

HELEN LLOYD

HENRIK RISAGER

HENRY BRYDON

JACK MOORE

JANYIS WATSON

JARED MITCHELL

JOSIE DEW

KATIE TIBBETTS

LEONARDO CORRADINI

LIZ WILTON

LORETTA HENDERSON

LYNETTE EYB

MARC FREEDMAN

MIKE BOLES

MIRJAM WOUTERS

PAUL JEURISSEN

RACHEL HUGENS

ROB HALKETT

ROB LUCAS

RUDI VERHAGEN

SCOTT STOLL

SHANE LITTLE

SIMON STEWART

STEVE FABES

THOMAS RILEY

TOM KEVILL-DAVIES

TYLER KELLEN

WILLEM MEGENS

rciv a SHOW IT book

with your FREE subscription to

Bicycle Traveler magazinewwwbicycletravelernl

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3636

Photo FEARGHAL Orsquo NUALLAIN

TravelerBicycle

Parting shot

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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TRIP GEAR

Escaping the dark winter months by

touring Morocco or Mexico is fun but

gttig bt aft yo t day

of cycling isnrsquot Scape is a waterproof

sweat proof sunscreen which will not

rub off and run into your eyes It also

ha th hight uVA potctio of a

sunscreens on the market

Price $1499 US

wwwscapelabscom

Advanced Sunscreen

Th Motai Hadwa utalamia

32 sleeping bag weighs just 1 lb15 oz

(870 gr) and packs down to approximately6 inches (17 cm) long It is designed for

damp cool conditions and is rated to 37

degrees F (3 C)

Price $190 US

Synthetic Sleeping Bag

Sololite One Person TentThe Wild Country Sololite is an inex-

pensive all-season solo tent It weighs

4 lb 35 oz (less than 2 kg) and is over

7 feet (220 cm) long

Price $17849 US

wwwterra-novacouk

A look at equipment for bicycle travelersBy GRACE JOHNSON

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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The Scrubr is a synthetic scouring pad

for cleaning your cooking gear Itrsquos

lightweight odor resistant and drips dry

in minutes The makers of Scrubr write

ldquoWe developed it because we weretired of having to throw away stinky

sponges after one camping triprdquo

Price $275 US

httplunatecgearcom

Scrubr Scouring Pad

Many Asian countries are full of cheaphotels so itrsquos tempting to leave your

camping gear at home Still if you become

stranded a cold night in the open can be

extremely uncomfortable An alternative

i to cay th sOl emgcy Bivy Itrsquo

made from the same material as space

bakt which ct 90 of yo body

heat back to youThe bag packs smalland weighs 38 oz (107 gr)

Price $50 US

wwwadventuremedicalkitscom

Emergency Bivy Bag

TrendyDigitalrsquos SplashGuard case is a

padded pouch with a protective screen

Itrsquos also resistant to water and dust You

can operate the keyboard and naviga-

tion button of your Kindle right through

the case It weighs 45 oz (128 gr) and

the company also makes protective

ca fo th iPad

Price $1599 US

httptrendydigitalcom

Kindle Protection

EQUIPMENT

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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Amonth before we left on our round

the world trip I began thinking ldquowhat

are we going to sit onrdquo After talking it

over with Tara (my wife) we decided our

requirements for a chair were (in order

of impotac) compact iz comfot-

able to sit in and (hopefully) very light

I started at the tip of the camp seatingiceberg by looking what Id used during

a my ai famiy campig tip tho

foldable chairs movie directors are sup-

posed to sit in I found big ones comi-

cally small ones wooden ones steel

ones aluminum ones and countless oth-

er variations before realizing the solution

had to lay elsewhere Delving deeper Idiscovered a dizzying array of options

including hundreds of folding chairs a

weird collapsible sling we tried it it was

awful) chairs with more moving parts

tha a ca ad ay gttig co ot

of th ggd o that md to t

the bill except they were all rather large

Once Id decided that a three leggedchair had the most potential I started

looking for one with telescoping legs I

knew it had to exist It took a lot of hunt-

ing but I eventually found the Swedish

made Walkstool and it had everything

w watd ma coapd iz vy

comfortable seating and thanks to its

amim cotctio ight wight O

of the things I like most about the Walk-

stool is that you can sit on it when the

legs arent extended the perfect height

for working on the drivetrain of your bi-

cycle or preparing dinner on the ground

After six months of use and abuse they

look brand new and work just as well as

they day they arrived at our doorstep I

oy hav o gativ thig to pot

they need better advertising

Walkstool Comfort

WALKSTOOL COMFORT

HEIGHT 18 IN (45 CM)

FOLDED LENGTH 11 IN (28 CM)

WEIGHT 26 OZ (725 GR)

MAXIMUM LOAD 440 LBS (200 KG)

By TYLER KELLEN

Tyler Kellen amp Tara Alan spent two yearscycling around the world Their websitewwwgoingslowlycom is the scrapbook of

their adventures together

GEAR REVIEWS

For further information on the Walkstool

Comfort see wwwwalkstoolcom

BT

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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EQUIPMENT

S

ometimes itrsquos hard to separate the

important accessories from the friv-

olous ones when choosing what to take

on a tour For a long time we put Ort-

liebrsquos 10 litre folding bowl in the sec-

ond category We couldnrsquot imagine why

we needed one

It wasnrsquot until we met a couple with not

one but two folding bowls on tour that we

reconsidered our decisionSince then the

bowl (which comes in 5 litre and 20 litre siz-es as well) has been one of our most reg-

ularly used items What do we use it for

Doig lady sik a oft with-

out plugs or if yoursquore camping you may

not have access to a sink at all The bowl

is great for doing laundry in and you can

fold it together with the clothes inside to

help squeeze out excess waterCoctig wat fo tig W gt

a large amount of water together in the

bow to t ito o bott wh wrsquo

in places where we canrsquot trust the water

showig u th bow to cay v-

erything you need for your shower back

and forth between the bathrooms and

the tent If yoursquore wild camping you canalso use the bowl to collect water from a

stream or river for a bucket shower

Washing Dishes Throw them all in

with a little dish soap and you have an

instant sink or just use the bowl to carry

everything to the washing area

Cleaning Food You can throw large

quantities of vegetables in the bowl to

be washed We use ours a lot for salad

leaves which are too bulky to clean in

our saucepans You can also use the

Ortlieb 10 Litre Folding BowlBy FRIEDEL GRANT

Friedel amp Andrew Grantrsquos extensive website

wwwtravellingtwocom contains their tripreports resources for bicycle travelers andthe e-book ldquoBike Touring Survival Guiderdquo

bowl as an extra serving dish We often

make and dress our salads directly in it

Itrsquos hard to think of a day where we

donrsquot use our Ortlieb Bowl When it isnrsquot

being put to work it folds up into a tri-

angle and sits on top of our camping

mattresses which lie across Friedelrsquos

two back panniers So howrsquos it holding

up After 2 years of constant use our

bowl is showing some signs of wear but

nothing that stops us using it as we wantto The sides are a little saggy but it still

maintains the bowl shape A small hole

did develop in the bottom along the fold

lines of the bowl but we patched it with

our puncture repair kit and havenrsquot had a

problem since

ORTLIEB 10 LITRE FOLDING BOWLWEIGHT 92 OZ (260 GR)

BT

For more information on the folding bowl

see wwwortliebde

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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IcelandWillem Megens and Rudi Verhagen experienceIcelandrsquos dramatic landscape as they cycle

around the Vatnajoumlkull glacierPhotos WILLEM MEGENS amp RUDI VERHAGEN

PHOTO STORY

Photo WILLEM MEGENS

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8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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Watching icebergs drift by at Joumlkulsaacuterloacuten

Photo RUDI VERHAGEN

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8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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65

4

3

2

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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1 The turquoise lake of Kraa

2 Rudi relaxes at Stafafell campsite

3 Willem crosses the Syri Oacutefael river

4 Church near Uljoacutetsvatn

5 Loose sand on the jeep track to

Hviacutetaacuternes lake 6 Curious locals

Willem and Rudi love bicycletouring since it gives them a sense

of freedom and satisfactionYou can see more of their photos

at httpthemeegnl

Photo cdit 2 4 5 Wim Mg

1 3 6 rdi Vhag

1

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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Southern California is a blend of

the athentic and the aticia

The natural landscape continu-

ously shifts between green hills rugged

cliffs and sandy dunes One reoccur-

ring feature is the golf course I imagine

the golf players live in the ritzy and rich

neighborhoods that I passed on the way

such as Monterey with all its grand vil-

las protected by high walls and Malibursquos

fenced in fancy houses that occupy en-

tire beaches I did not go behind those

glamorous facades but outside of them I

met several genuine generous and gor-geous people

As I bicycled past the high walls and

private beaches the Big Sur coast ap-

peared in all its simple beauty The luxury

life sometimes drove by me in the shape

of fast cars that looked like bat-mobiles

and suV the ength of imoine sti

I cycled on with the help of the wind Itpushed me up the high hills and treated

me with splendid views from the top be-

fore blowing me back down to sea level

The scenery was spectacular with water-

falls plunging into the ocean waves that

invited me in for a salty bath and camp

grounds with the star lit sky as the only

light source

Californiarsquos animals are full of charac-

ter Cute and clever raccoons ran their

nightly raids in search of food around my

tent During the day frisky squirrels jumped

in the ed and azy eephant ea took

naps on the beach The city animals

have had a make-over to match the de-

signer handbags that they sit in Spoiled

pets were pampered in cat-spas in glitzy

lo Angee and ate gazed dog bicit

from the bakeries of wealthy Carmel In

the beach town of Solana pet owners

could even book a consultation for advice

on reducing the climate change impact

of their animalrsquos high carbon lifestyle

All of the pets and people who peek out

from a fashionable handbag gaze over aprotective wall watch through their bat-

mobile car window or look beyond the

aticia andcape of a gof coe can

still enjoy the true beauty of California

the coast For me it was amazing to see

eappeaing view of the Pacic Ocean It

was there next to the Santa Barbara col-

lege house that I stayed in It was thereas I stretched my calves and thighs after

climbing the Big Sur hills It was there as

I hng ot by the kateboad pak at Ven-

ice Beach It was there as I dried in the

sun after a swim near San Diego and it

will continue to be by my side as I start

cycling through the beauty of Mexico

C A L I F O R N I A N

B E A U T Y

You can follow Hanna Mi Jakobsonrsquosfurther trans-American travels atwwwhannamijakobsoncom

Swedish journalist Hanna Mi Jakobson cycled

the Californian coast in search of new views

BT

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P h o t o s H A

N N A M I J A K O B S O N

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As I had been staying in northern

Bangkok it meant that I had to

ride through the city center and

out the other side when it was time to go

I hoped that by leaving at 630am I would

miss all the early morning commuter traf-

c How wog cod I b Fom th mo-ment I left the safety of the hotel car park

I wa attackd by tafc ev with a

my bicycle lights blazing the drivers still

couldnrsquot see me at one point I thought it

might be safer if I turned the lights off be-

cause then at least they wouldnrsquot know

what to aim for During that ride through

the city horns blared all around me andcars driven by madmen desperate to get

to work inched passed me

Cycling manners At t I wa a poit a I cod poi-

bly be lsquorsquocome on guys take your time and

give me a bit of room here after all we

are in this togetherrsquorsquo after about half an

hour of this politeness I managed to get

the sentence down to a couple of choice

words and hand gestures that are under-

stood in most countries Finally after three

hours of madness I managed to reach

the city outskirts and I was completely

lost Following my compass south witha map that was not detailed enough to

show the suburban streets I had to hope

that I wod vtay d a mai ot

Finding heavenIt was now 11am the sun was getting

hot I was tired from that morningrsquos com-

muter adventure and felt it would be goodto hav a ay ih I pottd a ig

that said Jimmies Guest House perfect

I would have somewhere to stay and

hopefully Jimmie could help me with a

detailed route out of the suburbs and

south towards the coast I never found

Jimmy and after an hour of following the

signs I gave up outside the gates to what

B983137983150983143983147983151983147Goodbye

Rob Halkett leaves the Thai capital amid the

sounds of car horns birdsong and ldquohey big spenderrdquo

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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looked like an expensive resort I didnrsquot

care if it cost $1000 a night I just want-

ed off the bike It turned out to be much

cheaper than I thought and would be

the perfect place for an overnight Once

again I was given a small private bunga-

low overlooking a lake The rest of that af-

ternoon was absolute bliss as I watched

birds and other wildlife on the lake

from the comfort of my private balcony

Karaoke contestantsI met the resortrsquos other guests at dinner a

group of pensioners from northern Thai-

land who had traveled down to Bang-kok to perform in a karaoke competition

Karaoke is huge here and every bar or

club and restaurant no matter how big or

small has a karaoke machine Everyone

is welcome to pick up the microphone

and sing I was used to listening to peo-

ple who canrsquot sing perform songs that

should never have been written At din-

ner I listened to ldquomy wayrdquo ldquosomewhere

over the rainbowrdquo ldquosend in the clownsrdquo

and other classic songs from the 50s and

60s sung in Thai it was the most bizarre

evening The group who were all great

fun had brought a professional karaoke

instructor with them and he was busy all

night teaching the contestants how to

sing each song They had noticed that

there was a foreigner in the restaurant

listening to them and clapping at the end

of each song and they were determinedto get me on the stage Fortunately we

cod d othig i egih o th ma-

chine although that was partly my fault

as I had told him to key into the machine

songs by System of a down or Metallica

I went to bed that evening to the sound

of ldquoHey Big Spenderrdquo sung in ThaiBT

For Rob Halkett there is no better way to seethe world than from a bicycle saddle You

can read more stories from his world biketrip at wwwrobsbikeridecom

Photo PAul JeurIssen

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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INTERVIEW

Q If you could come back and

ride anywhere in France where

would you go

A evywh

Q And where would you avoid

A Th otkit of Mai

Q Yoursquove cycled all over the

world ndash how does France rate

when you compare it to all the

other exotic destinations yoursquove

written about

A It vy co to th top of th it

Q In your early days you man-

aged to convince lots of non-cy-

cling friends to undertake some

pretty long rides with you Doyou have any advice for cyclists

who have reluctant partners or

friends theyrsquore trying to cajole

along for a ride

A Pg foth ito th kow ndash

its much more fun and much more

memorable than doing something safeand tedious

Q France has some great

routes for families ndash the Loire

the vineyard routes of Gironde

the greenways of Brittany

Youve got two mini-cyclists

of your own who are clock-

ing up the miles ndash whatrsquos so

great about introducing kids

to cycling

A Fdom advt ig ad

noticing things that they never would

when strapped into a vehicle enjoy-

ing life without being reliant on some

computerized gadget being outdoors in

all weathers It also makes them sleep

exceptionally well

Australian cyclist Lynette Eyb startedwwwfreewheelingfrancecom to help other

bicyclists plan their trips through France

BT

Josie Dew is the author of several popularcycling adventure books such as ldquoTheWind in My Wheels Travel Tales from the

Saddlerdquo and ldquoA Ride in the Neon Sun AGaijin in Japanrdquo For more information see

wwwjosiedewcom

ldquoFrench people like

cyclists even ones

with panniersrdquo

Q What three items canrsquot you

cycle without

A Tt to-cip ad a mii lathma

Q Any nal words of advice for

people thinking about cycling in

France

A Tat with xtm catio th biq-

ito igpot that poit TOuTes

DIreCTIOns How ca yo go i a

directions at once especially when its

pointing in the opposite direction from

the one you want to go

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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BENJAMIN JACOBwwwglobecyclersde

China

Image Roadthe

from

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8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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FABIAN NAWRATH

wwwafricabybikede

Uganda Image Roadthe

from

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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PAUL JEURISSENwwwpauljeurissennl

India

Image Roadthe

from

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8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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Not being able to go pee barefoot

in the middle of the nightrdquo Aicia ua wwwrodadasnet

ldquoMy WardrobeEvery girl should have more

than 3 sets of clothes to choose from

H loyd httphelenstakeoncom

ldquoNadda nil nix zippo zilch zip

lotta Hdo wwwskalatitudecom

Longing for

My kitchen - as a hungry cyclist

I dream about itrdquoTom Kevill-Davies wwwhungrycyclistcom

ldquoThe comfort of my own toilet

Dennis Koomen

wwwtoko-op-etsvakantienl

Facebook as I do not take a

smartphone on my tripsrdquoDirk van Hulle

wwwfacebookcomdirkvanhulle

Monday morning tube ride into

lodorsquo rat racrdquoHenry Brydon wwwtheblazingsaddlescom

rdquo

ldquo

rdquo

rdquo

rdquo

rdquo

Twitt - it i difct to cyc ad twtrdquoSimon Stewart wwwsilk-wheelscom

Sitting on the coach watchingmovies with my familyrdquoDustin Orrick wwwwork2ridecom

Clearly marked prices when shoppingrdquoFred Spengler

wwwcrazyguyonabikecomonrbikes

ldquoShoes that donrsquot go ldquoclick clickrdquo

when you walk

Guy Moodie wwwabikejourneycom

ldquoNot having to put on

frozen shoes in the morningThoma riy

wwwaroundtheworldforwatercouk

Anything that casts a shadow

resting in the shaderdquoDavid Gregory wwwboomersonbikescom

ldquo A loud stereo - to drown out the sound

of big trucks and noisy carsDave Conroy wwwtiredotca

What do cyclists miss on their trips

ldquoChairman Meowthe coolest cat in Canada

Mike Boles httpmikeonbikewordpresscom

ldquoKnowing the name of the place Irsquom

headed to when asked where Irsquom going

emma Phipott wwwrolling-talescom

Photo PAul JeurIssen

rdquo

rdquo

rdquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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SPEEDSTERS By STEVE FABES

COLUMN

Chances are you have met one Phap yo v a o Had ow back amot hoizota max-

imum two panniers and eyes scanning the trailing asphalt ner-

voy taig tig gac at th odomt Itrsquo th spdt

The

During my journey Irsquove

met many cyclists striving

to ride the length of Africa

in just four months many

others are chasing world

records and several orga-

nized tours have sproutedup in recent years making

The Speedster as ubiqui-

tous in this world as drunk

British nineteen year olds on Gap Years

This entity seems to exist only on

busy highways and dreary uninspir-

ing parts of the world never on rough

roads never in those wild placesWhen we do cross paths the conver-

sation follows a predictable pattern

often beginning with ldquoSo how many ki-

lometres have you comerdquo Followed

swiftly by ldquoAnd how long did that takerdquo

Cue furrowed brow mental arithmetic

is in progress as The Speedster tries to

calculate exactly how many more kilome-

tres they cover per month than you do

Itrsquos a shame that wersquove entered an era

of fast and furious bike adventures I canrsquot

help but wonder whether

people are forgetting what

for me is the ultimate high

of traveling by bicycle - the

slow transition The bicycle

is simply one of the best

mediums to explore a coun-try in detail As one place

slowly merges with another

bicycle travelers watch the

world evolve Why race through To see

a lot but to experience little By setting a

time limit you beef up the challenge but

acic omthig that to m at at i

far more important - the adventure Thetimes I have felt most alive have been

on those dusty tracks at the very edge of

civilization The times Irsquove relished more

than any other have been when Irsquove tak-

en up offers of hospitality from local peo-

ple offers which I presume would often

be declined by the speed freaks all in the

name of a few more miles before sunset

Phap Irsquom vgig o big o of

those conceited know-it-alls the type of

irritating traveler who seems convinced

P h o t o S T E

V E F A B E S

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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Dr Steve Fabes aims to cycle the length ofthe 6 continents while raising money for the

UK health charity Merlin You can followSteve at wwwcyclingthe6blogspotcom

CONTRIBUTORSthey are exploring the world in a superior

way than most but why not take more

time to look around Constantly dwell-

ing on distance and on time and on the

future means you forget to be surprised

by the present Why not resist always

taking the shortest or the easiest path

loop a ptti tha taight i

Shrug off that addiction to asphalt Take

time to banter with passersby and every

once in a while take a detour through a

town or village just because it has a fun-

ny sounding name on the map

And to The Speedsters out there I

have a few suggestions to make life eas-ier First off - a urinary catheter to oblit-

erate the need for all those time wast-

ing toilet stops A straw into your mouth

connected to a huge hat containing car-

bo-rich liquidized mush the kind of stuff

NASA gives to its astronauts And lastly

a tiny video camera on the handlebars

recording everything that occurs outsideyo twty dg via d That way

if something interesting happens to your

left or right therersquos no need to turn your

had catig dag ad acicig v-

locity Just watch it on tape afterwards in

the comfort of your own home whilst you

tell your friends and family how amazing

the experience was although you wishthat puncture on the N2 hadnacutet dented

your November average And next time

we meet - have some empathy please

Wersquore not all like you so letrsquos not talk in

numbers Tell me a good story insteadBT

AALDRIK MULDER

ALICIA URREA

ALVARO NEIL

AMAYA WILLIAMS

ANDREW MORGAN

ANDREW SYKES

BENJAMIN JACOB

DAVE CONROY

DAVID GREGORY

DAVID PIPER

DEAN CLEMENTSON

DENNIS KOOMEN

DIRK VAN HULLE

DUSTIN ORRICK

ED BRABANDER

EMMA PHILPOTT

FABIAN NAWRATH

FEARGHAL ONUALLAIN

FRED SPENGLER

FRIEDEL GRANT

GUY MOODIE

HANNA MI JAKOBSON

HARRY WAGENAAR

HELEN LLOYD

HENRIK RISAGER

HENRY BRYDON

JACK MOORE

JANYIS WATSON

JARED MITCHELL

JOSIE DEW

KATIE TIBBETTS

LEONARDO CORRADINI

LIZ WILTON

LORETTA HENDERSON

LYNETTE EYB

MARC FREEDMAN

MIKE BOLES

MIRJAM WOUTERS

PAUL JEURISSEN

RACHEL HUGENS

ROB HALKETT

ROB LUCAS

RUDI VERHAGEN

SCOTT STOLL

SHANE LITTLE

SIMON STEWART

STEVE FABES

THOMAS RILEY

TOM KEVILL-DAVIES

TYLER KELLEN

WILLEM MEGENS

rciv a SHOW IT book

with your FREE subscription to

Bicycle Traveler magazinewwwbicycletravelernl

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3636

Photo FEARGHAL Orsquo NUALLAIN

TravelerBicycle

Parting shot

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 1136JANUARY 2012 - WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL 11

The Scrubr is a synthetic scouring pad

for cleaning your cooking gear Itrsquos

lightweight odor resistant and drips dry

in minutes The makers of Scrubr write

ldquoWe developed it because we weretired of having to throw away stinky

sponges after one camping triprdquo

Price $275 US

httplunatecgearcom

Scrubr Scouring Pad

Many Asian countries are full of cheaphotels so itrsquos tempting to leave your

camping gear at home Still if you become

stranded a cold night in the open can be

extremely uncomfortable An alternative

i to cay th sOl emgcy Bivy Itrsquo

made from the same material as space

bakt which ct 90 of yo body

heat back to youThe bag packs smalland weighs 38 oz (107 gr)

Price $50 US

wwwadventuremedicalkitscom

Emergency Bivy Bag

TrendyDigitalrsquos SplashGuard case is a

padded pouch with a protective screen

Itrsquos also resistant to water and dust You

can operate the keyboard and naviga-

tion button of your Kindle right through

the case It weighs 45 oz (128 gr) and

the company also makes protective

ca fo th iPad

Price $1599 US

httptrendydigitalcom

Kindle Protection

EQUIPMENT

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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Amonth before we left on our round

the world trip I began thinking ldquowhat

are we going to sit onrdquo After talking it

over with Tara (my wife) we decided our

requirements for a chair were (in order

of impotac) compact iz comfot-

able to sit in and (hopefully) very light

I started at the tip of the camp seatingiceberg by looking what Id used during

a my ai famiy campig tip tho

foldable chairs movie directors are sup-

posed to sit in I found big ones comi-

cally small ones wooden ones steel

ones aluminum ones and countless oth-

er variations before realizing the solution

had to lay elsewhere Delving deeper Idiscovered a dizzying array of options

including hundreds of folding chairs a

weird collapsible sling we tried it it was

awful) chairs with more moving parts

tha a ca ad ay gttig co ot

of th ggd o that md to t

the bill except they were all rather large

Once Id decided that a three leggedchair had the most potential I started

looking for one with telescoping legs I

knew it had to exist It took a lot of hunt-

ing but I eventually found the Swedish

made Walkstool and it had everything

w watd ma coapd iz vy

comfortable seating and thanks to its

amim cotctio ight wight O

of the things I like most about the Walk-

stool is that you can sit on it when the

legs arent extended the perfect height

for working on the drivetrain of your bi-

cycle or preparing dinner on the ground

After six months of use and abuse they

look brand new and work just as well as

they day they arrived at our doorstep I

oy hav o gativ thig to pot

they need better advertising

Walkstool Comfort

WALKSTOOL COMFORT

HEIGHT 18 IN (45 CM)

FOLDED LENGTH 11 IN (28 CM)

WEIGHT 26 OZ (725 GR)

MAXIMUM LOAD 440 LBS (200 KG)

By TYLER KELLEN

Tyler Kellen amp Tara Alan spent two yearscycling around the world Their websitewwwgoingslowlycom is the scrapbook of

their adventures together

GEAR REVIEWS

For further information on the Walkstool

Comfort see wwwwalkstoolcom

BT

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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EQUIPMENT

S

ometimes itrsquos hard to separate the

important accessories from the friv-

olous ones when choosing what to take

on a tour For a long time we put Ort-

liebrsquos 10 litre folding bowl in the sec-

ond category We couldnrsquot imagine why

we needed one

It wasnrsquot until we met a couple with not

one but two folding bowls on tour that we

reconsidered our decisionSince then the

bowl (which comes in 5 litre and 20 litre siz-es as well) has been one of our most reg-

ularly used items What do we use it for

Doig lady sik a oft with-

out plugs or if yoursquore camping you may

not have access to a sink at all The bowl

is great for doing laundry in and you can

fold it together with the clothes inside to

help squeeze out excess waterCoctig wat fo tig W gt

a large amount of water together in the

bow to t ito o bott wh wrsquo

in places where we canrsquot trust the water

showig u th bow to cay v-

erything you need for your shower back

and forth between the bathrooms and

the tent If yoursquore wild camping you canalso use the bowl to collect water from a

stream or river for a bucket shower

Washing Dishes Throw them all in

with a little dish soap and you have an

instant sink or just use the bowl to carry

everything to the washing area

Cleaning Food You can throw large

quantities of vegetables in the bowl to

be washed We use ours a lot for salad

leaves which are too bulky to clean in

our saucepans You can also use the

Ortlieb 10 Litre Folding BowlBy FRIEDEL GRANT

Friedel amp Andrew Grantrsquos extensive website

wwwtravellingtwocom contains their tripreports resources for bicycle travelers andthe e-book ldquoBike Touring Survival Guiderdquo

bowl as an extra serving dish We often

make and dress our salads directly in it

Itrsquos hard to think of a day where we

donrsquot use our Ortlieb Bowl When it isnrsquot

being put to work it folds up into a tri-

angle and sits on top of our camping

mattresses which lie across Friedelrsquos

two back panniers So howrsquos it holding

up After 2 years of constant use our

bowl is showing some signs of wear but

nothing that stops us using it as we wantto The sides are a little saggy but it still

maintains the bowl shape A small hole

did develop in the bottom along the fold

lines of the bowl but we patched it with

our puncture repair kit and havenrsquot had a

problem since

ORTLIEB 10 LITRE FOLDING BOWLWEIGHT 92 OZ (260 GR)

BT

For more information on the folding bowl

see wwwortliebde

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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IcelandWillem Megens and Rudi Verhagen experienceIcelandrsquos dramatic landscape as they cycle

around the Vatnajoumlkull glacierPhotos WILLEM MEGENS amp RUDI VERHAGEN

PHOTO STORY

Photo WILLEM MEGENS

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8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 1636WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL - JANUARY 201216

Watching icebergs drift by at Joumlkulsaacuterloacuten

Photo RUDI VERHAGEN

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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65

4

3

2

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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1 The turquoise lake of Kraa

2 Rudi relaxes at Stafafell campsite

3 Willem crosses the Syri Oacutefael river

4 Church near Uljoacutetsvatn

5 Loose sand on the jeep track to

Hviacutetaacuternes lake 6 Curious locals

Willem and Rudi love bicycletouring since it gives them a sense

of freedom and satisfactionYou can see more of their photos

at httpthemeegnl

Photo cdit 2 4 5 Wim Mg

1 3 6 rdi Vhag

1

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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Southern California is a blend of

the athentic and the aticia

The natural landscape continu-

ously shifts between green hills rugged

cliffs and sandy dunes One reoccur-

ring feature is the golf course I imagine

the golf players live in the ritzy and rich

neighborhoods that I passed on the way

such as Monterey with all its grand vil-

las protected by high walls and Malibursquos

fenced in fancy houses that occupy en-

tire beaches I did not go behind those

glamorous facades but outside of them I

met several genuine generous and gor-geous people

As I bicycled past the high walls and

private beaches the Big Sur coast ap-

peared in all its simple beauty The luxury

life sometimes drove by me in the shape

of fast cars that looked like bat-mobiles

and suV the ength of imoine sti

I cycled on with the help of the wind Itpushed me up the high hills and treated

me with splendid views from the top be-

fore blowing me back down to sea level

The scenery was spectacular with water-

falls plunging into the ocean waves that

invited me in for a salty bath and camp

grounds with the star lit sky as the only

light source

Californiarsquos animals are full of charac-

ter Cute and clever raccoons ran their

nightly raids in search of food around my

tent During the day frisky squirrels jumped

in the ed and azy eephant ea took

naps on the beach The city animals

have had a make-over to match the de-

signer handbags that they sit in Spoiled

pets were pampered in cat-spas in glitzy

lo Angee and ate gazed dog bicit

from the bakeries of wealthy Carmel In

the beach town of Solana pet owners

could even book a consultation for advice

on reducing the climate change impact

of their animalrsquos high carbon lifestyle

All of the pets and people who peek out

from a fashionable handbag gaze over aprotective wall watch through their bat-

mobile car window or look beyond the

aticia andcape of a gof coe can

still enjoy the true beauty of California

the coast For me it was amazing to see

eappeaing view of the Pacic Ocean It

was there next to the Santa Barbara col-

lege house that I stayed in It was thereas I stretched my calves and thighs after

climbing the Big Sur hills It was there as

I hng ot by the kateboad pak at Ven-

ice Beach It was there as I dried in the

sun after a swim near San Diego and it

will continue to be by my side as I start

cycling through the beauty of Mexico

C A L I F O R N I A N

B E A U T Y

You can follow Hanna Mi Jakobsonrsquosfurther trans-American travels atwwwhannamijakobsoncom

Swedish journalist Hanna Mi Jakobson cycled

the Californian coast in search of new views

BT

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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P h o t o s H A

N N A M I J A K O B S O N

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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As I had been staying in northern

Bangkok it meant that I had to

ride through the city center and

out the other side when it was time to go

I hoped that by leaving at 630am I would

miss all the early morning commuter traf-

c How wog cod I b Fom th mo-ment I left the safety of the hotel car park

I wa attackd by tafc ev with a

my bicycle lights blazing the drivers still

couldnrsquot see me at one point I thought it

might be safer if I turned the lights off be-

cause then at least they wouldnrsquot know

what to aim for During that ride through

the city horns blared all around me andcars driven by madmen desperate to get

to work inched passed me

Cycling manners At t I wa a poit a I cod poi-

bly be lsquorsquocome on guys take your time and

give me a bit of room here after all we

are in this togetherrsquorsquo after about half an

hour of this politeness I managed to get

the sentence down to a couple of choice

words and hand gestures that are under-

stood in most countries Finally after three

hours of madness I managed to reach

the city outskirts and I was completely

lost Following my compass south witha map that was not detailed enough to

show the suburban streets I had to hope

that I wod vtay d a mai ot

Finding heavenIt was now 11am the sun was getting

hot I was tired from that morningrsquos com-

muter adventure and felt it would be goodto hav a ay ih I pottd a ig

that said Jimmies Guest House perfect

I would have somewhere to stay and

hopefully Jimmie could help me with a

detailed route out of the suburbs and

south towards the coast I never found

Jimmy and after an hour of following the

signs I gave up outside the gates to what

B983137983150983143983147983151983147Goodbye

Rob Halkett leaves the Thai capital amid the

sounds of car horns birdsong and ldquohey big spenderrdquo

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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looked like an expensive resort I didnrsquot

care if it cost $1000 a night I just want-

ed off the bike It turned out to be much

cheaper than I thought and would be

the perfect place for an overnight Once

again I was given a small private bunga-

low overlooking a lake The rest of that af-

ternoon was absolute bliss as I watched

birds and other wildlife on the lake

from the comfort of my private balcony

Karaoke contestantsI met the resortrsquos other guests at dinner a

group of pensioners from northern Thai-

land who had traveled down to Bang-kok to perform in a karaoke competition

Karaoke is huge here and every bar or

club and restaurant no matter how big or

small has a karaoke machine Everyone

is welcome to pick up the microphone

and sing I was used to listening to peo-

ple who canrsquot sing perform songs that

should never have been written At din-

ner I listened to ldquomy wayrdquo ldquosomewhere

over the rainbowrdquo ldquosend in the clownsrdquo

and other classic songs from the 50s and

60s sung in Thai it was the most bizarre

evening The group who were all great

fun had brought a professional karaoke

instructor with them and he was busy all

night teaching the contestants how to

sing each song They had noticed that

there was a foreigner in the restaurant

listening to them and clapping at the end

of each song and they were determinedto get me on the stage Fortunately we

cod d othig i egih o th ma-

chine although that was partly my fault

as I had told him to key into the machine

songs by System of a down or Metallica

I went to bed that evening to the sound

of ldquoHey Big Spenderrdquo sung in ThaiBT

For Rob Halkett there is no better way to seethe world than from a bicycle saddle You

can read more stories from his world biketrip at wwwrobsbikeridecom

Photo PAul JeurIssen

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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INTERVIEW

Q If you could come back and

ride anywhere in France where

would you go

A evywh

Q And where would you avoid

A Th otkit of Mai

Q Yoursquove cycled all over the

world ndash how does France rate

when you compare it to all the

other exotic destinations yoursquove

written about

A It vy co to th top of th it

Q In your early days you man-

aged to convince lots of non-cy-

cling friends to undertake some

pretty long rides with you Doyou have any advice for cyclists

who have reluctant partners or

friends theyrsquore trying to cajole

along for a ride

A Pg foth ito th kow ndash

its much more fun and much more

memorable than doing something safeand tedious

Q France has some great

routes for families ndash the Loire

the vineyard routes of Gironde

the greenways of Brittany

Youve got two mini-cyclists

of your own who are clock-

ing up the miles ndash whatrsquos so

great about introducing kids

to cycling

A Fdom advt ig ad

noticing things that they never would

when strapped into a vehicle enjoy-

ing life without being reliant on some

computerized gadget being outdoors in

all weathers It also makes them sleep

exceptionally well

Australian cyclist Lynette Eyb startedwwwfreewheelingfrancecom to help other

bicyclists plan their trips through France

BT

Josie Dew is the author of several popularcycling adventure books such as ldquoTheWind in My Wheels Travel Tales from the

Saddlerdquo and ldquoA Ride in the Neon Sun AGaijin in Japanrdquo For more information see

wwwjosiedewcom

ldquoFrench people like

cyclists even ones

with panniersrdquo

Q What three items canrsquot you

cycle without

A Tt to-cip ad a mii lathma

Q Any nal words of advice for

people thinking about cycling in

France

A Tat with xtm catio th biq-

ito igpot that poit TOuTes

DIreCTIOns How ca yo go i a

directions at once especially when its

pointing in the opposite direction from

the one you want to go

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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BENJAMIN JACOBwwwglobecyclersde

China

Image Roadthe

from

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 2836WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL - JANUARY 201228

FABIAN NAWRATH

wwwafricabybikede

Uganda Image Roadthe

from

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 2936JANUARY 2012 - WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL 29

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3036WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL - JANUARY 201230

PAUL JEURISSENwwwpauljeurissennl

India

Image Roadthe

from

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3236WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL - JANUARY 201232

Not being able to go pee barefoot

in the middle of the nightrdquo Aicia ua wwwrodadasnet

ldquoMy WardrobeEvery girl should have more

than 3 sets of clothes to choose from

H loyd httphelenstakeoncom

ldquoNadda nil nix zippo zilch zip

lotta Hdo wwwskalatitudecom

Longing for

My kitchen - as a hungry cyclist

I dream about itrdquoTom Kevill-Davies wwwhungrycyclistcom

ldquoThe comfort of my own toilet

Dennis Koomen

wwwtoko-op-etsvakantienl

Facebook as I do not take a

smartphone on my tripsrdquoDirk van Hulle

wwwfacebookcomdirkvanhulle

Monday morning tube ride into

lodorsquo rat racrdquoHenry Brydon wwwtheblazingsaddlescom

rdquo

ldquo

rdquo

rdquo

rdquo

rdquo

Twitt - it i difct to cyc ad twtrdquoSimon Stewart wwwsilk-wheelscom

Sitting on the coach watchingmovies with my familyrdquoDustin Orrick wwwwork2ridecom

Clearly marked prices when shoppingrdquoFred Spengler

wwwcrazyguyonabikecomonrbikes

ldquoShoes that donrsquot go ldquoclick clickrdquo

when you walk

Guy Moodie wwwabikejourneycom

ldquoNot having to put on

frozen shoes in the morningThoma riy

wwwaroundtheworldforwatercouk

Anything that casts a shadow

resting in the shaderdquoDavid Gregory wwwboomersonbikescom

ldquo A loud stereo - to drown out the sound

of big trucks and noisy carsDave Conroy wwwtiredotca

What do cyclists miss on their trips

ldquoChairman Meowthe coolest cat in Canada

Mike Boles httpmikeonbikewordpresscom

ldquoKnowing the name of the place Irsquom

headed to when asked where Irsquom going

emma Phipott wwwrolling-talescom

Photo PAul JeurIssen

rdquo

rdquo

rdquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3436WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL - JANUARY 201234

SPEEDSTERS By STEVE FABES

COLUMN

Chances are you have met one Phap yo v a o Had ow back amot hoizota max-

imum two panniers and eyes scanning the trailing asphalt ner-

voy taig tig gac at th odomt Itrsquo th spdt

The

During my journey Irsquove

met many cyclists striving

to ride the length of Africa

in just four months many

others are chasing world

records and several orga-

nized tours have sproutedup in recent years making

The Speedster as ubiqui-

tous in this world as drunk

British nineteen year olds on Gap Years

This entity seems to exist only on

busy highways and dreary uninspir-

ing parts of the world never on rough

roads never in those wild placesWhen we do cross paths the conver-

sation follows a predictable pattern

often beginning with ldquoSo how many ki-

lometres have you comerdquo Followed

swiftly by ldquoAnd how long did that takerdquo

Cue furrowed brow mental arithmetic

is in progress as The Speedster tries to

calculate exactly how many more kilome-

tres they cover per month than you do

Itrsquos a shame that wersquove entered an era

of fast and furious bike adventures I canrsquot

help but wonder whether

people are forgetting what

for me is the ultimate high

of traveling by bicycle - the

slow transition The bicycle

is simply one of the best

mediums to explore a coun-try in detail As one place

slowly merges with another

bicycle travelers watch the

world evolve Why race through To see

a lot but to experience little By setting a

time limit you beef up the challenge but

acic omthig that to m at at i

far more important - the adventure Thetimes I have felt most alive have been

on those dusty tracks at the very edge of

civilization The times Irsquove relished more

than any other have been when Irsquove tak-

en up offers of hospitality from local peo-

ple offers which I presume would often

be declined by the speed freaks all in the

name of a few more miles before sunset

Phap Irsquom vgig o big o of

those conceited know-it-alls the type of

irritating traveler who seems convinced

P h o t o S T E

V E F A B E S

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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Dr Steve Fabes aims to cycle the length ofthe 6 continents while raising money for the

UK health charity Merlin You can followSteve at wwwcyclingthe6blogspotcom

CONTRIBUTORSthey are exploring the world in a superior

way than most but why not take more

time to look around Constantly dwell-

ing on distance and on time and on the

future means you forget to be surprised

by the present Why not resist always

taking the shortest or the easiest path

loop a ptti tha taight i

Shrug off that addiction to asphalt Take

time to banter with passersby and every

once in a while take a detour through a

town or village just because it has a fun-

ny sounding name on the map

And to The Speedsters out there I

have a few suggestions to make life eas-ier First off - a urinary catheter to oblit-

erate the need for all those time wast-

ing toilet stops A straw into your mouth

connected to a huge hat containing car-

bo-rich liquidized mush the kind of stuff

NASA gives to its astronauts And lastly

a tiny video camera on the handlebars

recording everything that occurs outsideyo twty dg via d That way

if something interesting happens to your

left or right therersquos no need to turn your

had catig dag ad acicig v-

locity Just watch it on tape afterwards in

the comfort of your own home whilst you

tell your friends and family how amazing

the experience was although you wishthat puncture on the N2 hadnacutet dented

your November average And next time

we meet - have some empathy please

Wersquore not all like you so letrsquos not talk in

numbers Tell me a good story insteadBT

AALDRIK MULDER

ALICIA URREA

ALVARO NEIL

AMAYA WILLIAMS

ANDREW MORGAN

ANDREW SYKES

BENJAMIN JACOB

DAVE CONROY

DAVID GREGORY

DAVID PIPER

DEAN CLEMENTSON

DENNIS KOOMEN

DIRK VAN HULLE

DUSTIN ORRICK

ED BRABANDER

EMMA PHILPOTT

FABIAN NAWRATH

FEARGHAL ONUALLAIN

FRED SPENGLER

FRIEDEL GRANT

GUY MOODIE

HANNA MI JAKOBSON

HARRY WAGENAAR

HELEN LLOYD

HENRIK RISAGER

HENRY BRYDON

JACK MOORE

JANYIS WATSON

JARED MITCHELL

JOSIE DEW

KATIE TIBBETTS

LEONARDO CORRADINI

LIZ WILTON

LORETTA HENDERSON

LYNETTE EYB

MARC FREEDMAN

MIKE BOLES

MIRJAM WOUTERS

PAUL JEURISSEN

RACHEL HUGENS

ROB HALKETT

ROB LUCAS

RUDI VERHAGEN

SCOTT STOLL

SHANE LITTLE

SIMON STEWART

STEVE FABES

THOMAS RILEY

TOM KEVILL-DAVIES

TYLER KELLEN

WILLEM MEGENS

rciv a SHOW IT book

with your FREE subscription to

Bicycle Traveler magazinewwwbicycletravelernl

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3636

Photo FEARGHAL Orsquo NUALLAIN

TravelerBicycle

Parting shot

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 1236WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL - JANUARY 201212

Amonth before we left on our round

the world trip I began thinking ldquowhat

are we going to sit onrdquo After talking it

over with Tara (my wife) we decided our

requirements for a chair were (in order

of impotac) compact iz comfot-

able to sit in and (hopefully) very light

I started at the tip of the camp seatingiceberg by looking what Id used during

a my ai famiy campig tip tho

foldable chairs movie directors are sup-

posed to sit in I found big ones comi-

cally small ones wooden ones steel

ones aluminum ones and countless oth-

er variations before realizing the solution

had to lay elsewhere Delving deeper Idiscovered a dizzying array of options

including hundreds of folding chairs a

weird collapsible sling we tried it it was

awful) chairs with more moving parts

tha a ca ad ay gttig co ot

of th ggd o that md to t

the bill except they were all rather large

Once Id decided that a three leggedchair had the most potential I started

looking for one with telescoping legs I

knew it had to exist It took a lot of hunt-

ing but I eventually found the Swedish

made Walkstool and it had everything

w watd ma coapd iz vy

comfortable seating and thanks to its

amim cotctio ight wight O

of the things I like most about the Walk-

stool is that you can sit on it when the

legs arent extended the perfect height

for working on the drivetrain of your bi-

cycle or preparing dinner on the ground

After six months of use and abuse they

look brand new and work just as well as

they day they arrived at our doorstep I

oy hav o gativ thig to pot

they need better advertising

Walkstool Comfort

WALKSTOOL COMFORT

HEIGHT 18 IN (45 CM)

FOLDED LENGTH 11 IN (28 CM)

WEIGHT 26 OZ (725 GR)

MAXIMUM LOAD 440 LBS (200 KG)

By TYLER KELLEN

Tyler Kellen amp Tara Alan spent two yearscycling around the world Their websitewwwgoingslowlycom is the scrapbook of

their adventures together

GEAR REVIEWS

For further information on the Walkstool

Comfort see wwwwalkstoolcom

BT

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 1336JANUARY 2012 - WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL 13

EQUIPMENT

S

ometimes itrsquos hard to separate the

important accessories from the friv-

olous ones when choosing what to take

on a tour For a long time we put Ort-

liebrsquos 10 litre folding bowl in the sec-

ond category We couldnrsquot imagine why

we needed one

It wasnrsquot until we met a couple with not

one but two folding bowls on tour that we

reconsidered our decisionSince then the

bowl (which comes in 5 litre and 20 litre siz-es as well) has been one of our most reg-

ularly used items What do we use it for

Doig lady sik a oft with-

out plugs or if yoursquore camping you may

not have access to a sink at all The bowl

is great for doing laundry in and you can

fold it together with the clothes inside to

help squeeze out excess waterCoctig wat fo tig W gt

a large amount of water together in the

bow to t ito o bott wh wrsquo

in places where we canrsquot trust the water

showig u th bow to cay v-

erything you need for your shower back

and forth between the bathrooms and

the tent If yoursquore wild camping you canalso use the bowl to collect water from a

stream or river for a bucket shower

Washing Dishes Throw them all in

with a little dish soap and you have an

instant sink or just use the bowl to carry

everything to the washing area

Cleaning Food You can throw large

quantities of vegetables in the bowl to

be washed We use ours a lot for salad

leaves which are too bulky to clean in

our saucepans You can also use the

Ortlieb 10 Litre Folding BowlBy FRIEDEL GRANT

Friedel amp Andrew Grantrsquos extensive website

wwwtravellingtwocom contains their tripreports resources for bicycle travelers andthe e-book ldquoBike Touring Survival Guiderdquo

bowl as an extra serving dish We often

make and dress our salads directly in it

Itrsquos hard to think of a day where we

donrsquot use our Ortlieb Bowl When it isnrsquot

being put to work it folds up into a tri-

angle and sits on top of our camping

mattresses which lie across Friedelrsquos

two back panniers So howrsquos it holding

up After 2 years of constant use our

bowl is showing some signs of wear but

nothing that stops us using it as we wantto The sides are a little saggy but it still

maintains the bowl shape A small hole

did develop in the bottom along the fold

lines of the bowl but we patched it with

our puncture repair kit and havenrsquot had a

problem since

ORTLIEB 10 LITRE FOLDING BOWLWEIGHT 92 OZ (260 GR)

BT

For more information on the folding bowl

see wwwortliebde

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 1436WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL - JANUARY 201214

IcelandWillem Megens and Rudi Verhagen experienceIcelandrsquos dramatic landscape as they cycle

around the Vatnajoumlkull glacierPhotos WILLEM MEGENS amp RUDI VERHAGEN

PHOTO STORY

Photo WILLEM MEGENS

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 1636WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL - JANUARY 201216

Watching icebergs drift by at Joumlkulsaacuterloacuten

Photo RUDI VERHAGEN

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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65

4

3

2

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 1936JANUARY 2012 - WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL 19

1 The turquoise lake of Kraa

2 Rudi relaxes at Stafafell campsite

3 Willem crosses the Syri Oacutefael river

4 Church near Uljoacutetsvatn

5 Loose sand on the jeep track to

Hviacutetaacuternes lake 6 Curious locals

Willem and Rudi love bicycletouring since it gives them a sense

of freedom and satisfactionYou can see more of their photos

at httpthemeegnl

Photo cdit 2 4 5 Wim Mg

1 3 6 rdi Vhag

1

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 2036WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL - JANUARY 201220

Southern California is a blend of

the athentic and the aticia

The natural landscape continu-

ously shifts between green hills rugged

cliffs and sandy dunes One reoccur-

ring feature is the golf course I imagine

the golf players live in the ritzy and rich

neighborhoods that I passed on the way

such as Monterey with all its grand vil-

las protected by high walls and Malibursquos

fenced in fancy houses that occupy en-

tire beaches I did not go behind those

glamorous facades but outside of them I

met several genuine generous and gor-geous people

As I bicycled past the high walls and

private beaches the Big Sur coast ap-

peared in all its simple beauty The luxury

life sometimes drove by me in the shape

of fast cars that looked like bat-mobiles

and suV the ength of imoine sti

I cycled on with the help of the wind Itpushed me up the high hills and treated

me with splendid views from the top be-

fore blowing me back down to sea level

The scenery was spectacular with water-

falls plunging into the ocean waves that

invited me in for a salty bath and camp

grounds with the star lit sky as the only

light source

Californiarsquos animals are full of charac-

ter Cute and clever raccoons ran their

nightly raids in search of food around my

tent During the day frisky squirrels jumped

in the ed and azy eephant ea took

naps on the beach The city animals

have had a make-over to match the de-

signer handbags that they sit in Spoiled

pets were pampered in cat-spas in glitzy

lo Angee and ate gazed dog bicit

from the bakeries of wealthy Carmel In

the beach town of Solana pet owners

could even book a consultation for advice

on reducing the climate change impact

of their animalrsquos high carbon lifestyle

All of the pets and people who peek out

from a fashionable handbag gaze over aprotective wall watch through their bat-

mobile car window or look beyond the

aticia andcape of a gof coe can

still enjoy the true beauty of California

the coast For me it was amazing to see

eappeaing view of the Pacic Ocean It

was there next to the Santa Barbara col-

lege house that I stayed in It was thereas I stretched my calves and thighs after

climbing the Big Sur hills It was there as

I hng ot by the kateboad pak at Ven-

ice Beach It was there as I dried in the

sun after a swim near San Diego and it

will continue to be by my side as I start

cycling through the beauty of Mexico

C A L I F O R N I A N

B E A U T Y

You can follow Hanna Mi Jakobsonrsquosfurther trans-American travels atwwwhannamijakobsoncom

Swedish journalist Hanna Mi Jakobson cycled

the Californian coast in search of new views

BT

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 2136JANUARY 2012 - WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL 21

P h o t o s H A

N N A M I J A K O B S O N

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 2236WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL - JANUARY 201222

As I had been staying in northern

Bangkok it meant that I had to

ride through the city center and

out the other side when it was time to go

I hoped that by leaving at 630am I would

miss all the early morning commuter traf-

c How wog cod I b Fom th mo-ment I left the safety of the hotel car park

I wa attackd by tafc ev with a

my bicycle lights blazing the drivers still

couldnrsquot see me at one point I thought it

might be safer if I turned the lights off be-

cause then at least they wouldnrsquot know

what to aim for During that ride through

the city horns blared all around me andcars driven by madmen desperate to get

to work inched passed me

Cycling manners At t I wa a poit a I cod poi-

bly be lsquorsquocome on guys take your time and

give me a bit of room here after all we

are in this togetherrsquorsquo after about half an

hour of this politeness I managed to get

the sentence down to a couple of choice

words and hand gestures that are under-

stood in most countries Finally after three

hours of madness I managed to reach

the city outskirts and I was completely

lost Following my compass south witha map that was not detailed enough to

show the suburban streets I had to hope

that I wod vtay d a mai ot

Finding heavenIt was now 11am the sun was getting

hot I was tired from that morningrsquos com-

muter adventure and felt it would be goodto hav a ay ih I pottd a ig

that said Jimmies Guest House perfect

I would have somewhere to stay and

hopefully Jimmie could help me with a

detailed route out of the suburbs and

south towards the coast I never found

Jimmy and after an hour of following the

signs I gave up outside the gates to what

B983137983150983143983147983151983147Goodbye

Rob Halkett leaves the Thai capital amid the

sounds of car horns birdsong and ldquohey big spenderrdquo

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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looked like an expensive resort I didnrsquot

care if it cost $1000 a night I just want-

ed off the bike It turned out to be much

cheaper than I thought and would be

the perfect place for an overnight Once

again I was given a small private bunga-

low overlooking a lake The rest of that af-

ternoon was absolute bliss as I watched

birds and other wildlife on the lake

from the comfort of my private balcony

Karaoke contestantsI met the resortrsquos other guests at dinner a

group of pensioners from northern Thai-

land who had traveled down to Bang-kok to perform in a karaoke competition

Karaoke is huge here and every bar or

club and restaurant no matter how big or

small has a karaoke machine Everyone

is welcome to pick up the microphone

and sing I was used to listening to peo-

ple who canrsquot sing perform songs that

should never have been written At din-

ner I listened to ldquomy wayrdquo ldquosomewhere

over the rainbowrdquo ldquosend in the clownsrdquo

and other classic songs from the 50s and

60s sung in Thai it was the most bizarre

evening The group who were all great

fun had brought a professional karaoke

instructor with them and he was busy all

night teaching the contestants how to

sing each song They had noticed that

there was a foreigner in the restaurant

listening to them and clapping at the end

of each song and they were determinedto get me on the stage Fortunately we

cod d othig i egih o th ma-

chine although that was partly my fault

as I had told him to key into the machine

songs by System of a down or Metallica

I went to bed that evening to the sound

of ldquoHey Big Spenderrdquo sung in ThaiBT

For Rob Halkett there is no better way to seethe world than from a bicycle saddle You

can read more stories from his world biketrip at wwwrobsbikeridecom

Photo PAul JeurIssen

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 2436

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 2536JANUARY 2012 - WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL 25

INTERVIEW

Q If you could come back and

ride anywhere in France where

would you go

A evywh

Q And where would you avoid

A Th otkit of Mai

Q Yoursquove cycled all over the

world ndash how does France rate

when you compare it to all the

other exotic destinations yoursquove

written about

A It vy co to th top of th it

Q In your early days you man-

aged to convince lots of non-cy-

cling friends to undertake some

pretty long rides with you Doyou have any advice for cyclists

who have reluctant partners or

friends theyrsquore trying to cajole

along for a ride

A Pg foth ito th kow ndash

its much more fun and much more

memorable than doing something safeand tedious

Q France has some great

routes for families ndash the Loire

the vineyard routes of Gironde

the greenways of Brittany

Youve got two mini-cyclists

of your own who are clock-

ing up the miles ndash whatrsquos so

great about introducing kids

to cycling

A Fdom advt ig ad

noticing things that they never would

when strapped into a vehicle enjoy-

ing life without being reliant on some

computerized gadget being outdoors in

all weathers It also makes them sleep

exceptionally well

Australian cyclist Lynette Eyb startedwwwfreewheelingfrancecom to help other

bicyclists plan their trips through France

BT

Josie Dew is the author of several popularcycling adventure books such as ldquoTheWind in My Wheels Travel Tales from the

Saddlerdquo and ldquoA Ride in the Neon Sun AGaijin in Japanrdquo For more information see

wwwjosiedewcom

ldquoFrench people like

cyclists even ones

with panniersrdquo

Q What three items canrsquot you

cycle without

A Tt to-cip ad a mii lathma

Q Any nal words of advice for

people thinking about cycling in

France

A Tat with xtm catio th biq-

ito igpot that poit TOuTes

DIreCTIOns How ca yo go i a

directions at once especially when its

pointing in the opposite direction from

the one you want to go

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 2636WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL - JANUARY 201226

BENJAMIN JACOBwwwglobecyclersde

China

Image Roadthe

from

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 2736JANUARY 2012 - WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL 27

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 2836WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL - JANUARY 201228

FABIAN NAWRATH

wwwafricabybikede

Uganda Image Roadthe

from

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 2936JANUARY 2012 - WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL 29

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3036WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL - JANUARY 201230

PAUL JEURISSENwwwpauljeurissennl

India

Image Roadthe

from

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3236WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL - JANUARY 201232

Not being able to go pee barefoot

in the middle of the nightrdquo Aicia ua wwwrodadasnet

ldquoMy WardrobeEvery girl should have more

than 3 sets of clothes to choose from

H loyd httphelenstakeoncom

ldquoNadda nil nix zippo zilch zip

lotta Hdo wwwskalatitudecom

Longing for

My kitchen - as a hungry cyclist

I dream about itrdquoTom Kevill-Davies wwwhungrycyclistcom

ldquoThe comfort of my own toilet

Dennis Koomen

wwwtoko-op-etsvakantienl

Facebook as I do not take a

smartphone on my tripsrdquoDirk van Hulle

wwwfacebookcomdirkvanhulle

Monday morning tube ride into

lodorsquo rat racrdquoHenry Brydon wwwtheblazingsaddlescom

rdquo

ldquo

rdquo

rdquo

rdquo

rdquo

Twitt - it i difct to cyc ad twtrdquoSimon Stewart wwwsilk-wheelscom

Sitting on the coach watchingmovies with my familyrdquoDustin Orrick wwwwork2ridecom

Clearly marked prices when shoppingrdquoFred Spengler

wwwcrazyguyonabikecomonrbikes

ldquoShoes that donrsquot go ldquoclick clickrdquo

when you walk

Guy Moodie wwwabikejourneycom

ldquoNot having to put on

frozen shoes in the morningThoma riy

wwwaroundtheworldforwatercouk

Anything that casts a shadow

resting in the shaderdquoDavid Gregory wwwboomersonbikescom

ldquo A loud stereo - to drown out the sound

of big trucks and noisy carsDave Conroy wwwtiredotca

What do cyclists miss on their trips

ldquoChairman Meowthe coolest cat in Canada

Mike Boles httpmikeonbikewordpresscom

ldquoKnowing the name of the place Irsquom

headed to when asked where Irsquom going

emma Phipott wwwrolling-talescom

Photo PAul JeurIssen

rdquo

rdquo

rdquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

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8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3436WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL - JANUARY 201234

SPEEDSTERS By STEVE FABES

COLUMN

Chances are you have met one Phap yo v a o Had ow back amot hoizota max-

imum two panniers and eyes scanning the trailing asphalt ner-

voy taig tig gac at th odomt Itrsquo th spdt

The

During my journey Irsquove

met many cyclists striving

to ride the length of Africa

in just four months many

others are chasing world

records and several orga-

nized tours have sproutedup in recent years making

The Speedster as ubiqui-

tous in this world as drunk

British nineteen year olds on Gap Years

This entity seems to exist only on

busy highways and dreary uninspir-

ing parts of the world never on rough

roads never in those wild placesWhen we do cross paths the conver-

sation follows a predictable pattern

often beginning with ldquoSo how many ki-

lometres have you comerdquo Followed

swiftly by ldquoAnd how long did that takerdquo

Cue furrowed brow mental arithmetic

is in progress as The Speedster tries to

calculate exactly how many more kilome-

tres they cover per month than you do

Itrsquos a shame that wersquove entered an era

of fast and furious bike adventures I canrsquot

help but wonder whether

people are forgetting what

for me is the ultimate high

of traveling by bicycle - the

slow transition The bicycle

is simply one of the best

mediums to explore a coun-try in detail As one place

slowly merges with another

bicycle travelers watch the

world evolve Why race through To see

a lot but to experience little By setting a

time limit you beef up the challenge but

acic omthig that to m at at i

far more important - the adventure Thetimes I have felt most alive have been

on those dusty tracks at the very edge of

civilization The times Irsquove relished more

than any other have been when Irsquove tak-

en up offers of hospitality from local peo-

ple offers which I presume would often

be declined by the speed freaks all in the

name of a few more miles before sunset

Phap Irsquom vgig o big o of

those conceited know-it-alls the type of

irritating traveler who seems convinced

P h o t o S T E

V E F A B E S

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3536JANUARY 2012 - WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL 35

Dr Steve Fabes aims to cycle the length ofthe 6 continents while raising money for the

UK health charity Merlin You can followSteve at wwwcyclingthe6blogspotcom

CONTRIBUTORSthey are exploring the world in a superior

way than most but why not take more

time to look around Constantly dwell-

ing on distance and on time and on the

future means you forget to be surprised

by the present Why not resist always

taking the shortest or the easiest path

loop a ptti tha taight i

Shrug off that addiction to asphalt Take

time to banter with passersby and every

once in a while take a detour through a

town or village just because it has a fun-

ny sounding name on the map

And to The Speedsters out there I

have a few suggestions to make life eas-ier First off - a urinary catheter to oblit-

erate the need for all those time wast-

ing toilet stops A straw into your mouth

connected to a huge hat containing car-

bo-rich liquidized mush the kind of stuff

NASA gives to its astronauts And lastly

a tiny video camera on the handlebars

recording everything that occurs outsideyo twty dg via d That way

if something interesting happens to your

left or right therersquos no need to turn your

had catig dag ad acicig v-

locity Just watch it on tape afterwards in

the comfort of your own home whilst you

tell your friends and family how amazing

the experience was although you wishthat puncture on the N2 hadnacutet dented

your November average And next time

we meet - have some empathy please

Wersquore not all like you so letrsquos not talk in

numbers Tell me a good story insteadBT

AALDRIK MULDER

ALICIA URREA

ALVARO NEIL

AMAYA WILLIAMS

ANDREW MORGAN

ANDREW SYKES

BENJAMIN JACOB

DAVE CONROY

DAVID GREGORY

DAVID PIPER

DEAN CLEMENTSON

DENNIS KOOMEN

DIRK VAN HULLE

DUSTIN ORRICK

ED BRABANDER

EMMA PHILPOTT

FABIAN NAWRATH

FEARGHAL ONUALLAIN

FRED SPENGLER

FRIEDEL GRANT

GUY MOODIE

HANNA MI JAKOBSON

HARRY WAGENAAR

HELEN LLOYD

HENRIK RISAGER

HENRY BRYDON

JACK MOORE

JANYIS WATSON

JARED MITCHELL

JOSIE DEW

KATIE TIBBETTS

LEONARDO CORRADINI

LIZ WILTON

LORETTA HENDERSON

LYNETTE EYB

MARC FREEDMAN

MIKE BOLES

MIRJAM WOUTERS

PAUL JEURISSEN

RACHEL HUGENS

ROB HALKETT

ROB LUCAS

RUDI VERHAGEN

SCOTT STOLL

SHANE LITTLE

SIMON STEWART

STEVE FABES

THOMAS RILEY

TOM KEVILL-DAVIES

TYLER KELLEN

WILLEM MEGENS

rciv a SHOW IT book

with your FREE subscription to

Bicycle Traveler magazinewwwbicycletravelernl

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3636

Photo FEARGHAL Orsquo NUALLAIN

TravelerBicycle

Parting shot

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 1336JANUARY 2012 - WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL 13

EQUIPMENT

S

ometimes itrsquos hard to separate the

important accessories from the friv-

olous ones when choosing what to take

on a tour For a long time we put Ort-

liebrsquos 10 litre folding bowl in the sec-

ond category We couldnrsquot imagine why

we needed one

It wasnrsquot until we met a couple with not

one but two folding bowls on tour that we

reconsidered our decisionSince then the

bowl (which comes in 5 litre and 20 litre siz-es as well) has been one of our most reg-

ularly used items What do we use it for

Doig lady sik a oft with-

out plugs or if yoursquore camping you may

not have access to a sink at all The bowl

is great for doing laundry in and you can

fold it together with the clothes inside to

help squeeze out excess waterCoctig wat fo tig W gt

a large amount of water together in the

bow to t ito o bott wh wrsquo

in places where we canrsquot trust the water

showig u th bow to cay v-

erything you need for your shower back

and forth between the bathrooms and

the tent If yoursquore wild camping you canalso use the bowl to collect water from a

stream or river for a bucket shower

Washing Dishes Throw them all in

with a little dish soap and you have an

instant sink or just use the bowl to carry

everything to the washing area

Cleaning Food You can throw large

quantities of vegetables in the bowl to

be washed We use ours a lot for salad

leaves which are too bulky to clean in

our saucepans You can also use the

Ortlieb 10 Litre Folding BowlBy FRIEDEL GRANT

Friedel amp Andrew Grantrsquos extensive website

wwwtravellingtwocom contains their tripreports resources for bicycle travelers andthe e-book ldquoBike Touring Survival Guiderdquo

bowl as an extra serving dish We often

make and dress our salads directly in it

Itrsquos hard to think of a day where we

donrsquot use our Ortlieb Bowl When it isnrsquot

being put to work it folds up into a tri-

angle and sits on top of our camping

mattresses which lie across Friedelrsquos

two back panniers So howrsquos it holding

up After 2 years of constant use our

bowl is showing some signs of wear but

nothing that stops us using it as we wantto The sides are a little saggy but it still

maintains the bowl shape A small hole

did develop in the bottom along the fold

lines of the bowl but we patched it with

our puncture repair kit and havenrsquot had a

problem since

ORTLIEB 10 LITRE FOLDING BOWLWEIGHT 92 OZ (260 GR)

BT

For more information on the folding bowl

see wwwortliebde

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 1436WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL - JANUARY 201214

IcelandWillem Megens and Rudi Verhagen experienceIcelandrsquos dramatic landscape as they cycle

around the Vatnajoumlkull glacierPhotos WILLEM MEGENS amp RUDI VERHAGEN

PHOTO STORY

Photo WILLEM MEGENS

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 1536JANUARY 2012 - WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL 15

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 1636WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL - JANUARY 201216

Watching icebergs drift by at Joumlkulsaacuterloacuten

Photo RUDI VERHAGEN

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 1736JANUARY 2012 - WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL 17

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 1836WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL - JANUARY 201218

65

4

3

2

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 1936JANUARY 2012 - WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL 19

1 The turquoise lake of Kraa

2 Rudi relaxes at Stafafell campsite

3 Willem crosses the Syri Oacutefael river

4 Church near Uljoacutetsvatn

5 Loose sand on the jeep track to

Hviacutetaacuternes lake 6 Curious locals

Willem and Rudi love bicycletouring since it gives them a sense

of freedom and satisfactionYou can see more of their photos

at httpthemeegnl

Photo cdit 2 4 5 Wim Mg

1 3 6 rdi Vhag

1

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 2036WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL - JANUARY 201220

Southern California is a blend of

the athentic and the aticia

The natural landscape continu-

ously shifts between green hills rugged

cliffs and sandy dunes One reoccur-

ring feature is the golf course I imagine

the golf players live in the ritzy and rich

neighborhoods that I passed on the way

such as Monterey with all its grand vil-

las protected by high walls and Malibursquos

fenced in fancy houses that occupy en-

tire beaches I did not go behind those

glamorous facades but outside of them I

met several genuine generous and gor-geous people

As I bicycled past the high walls and

private beaches the Big Sur coast ap-

peared in all its simple beauty The luxury

life sometimes drove by me in the shape

of fast cars that looked like bat-mobiles

and suV the ength of imoine sti

I cycled on with the help of the wind Itpushed me up the high hills and treated

me with splendid views from the top be-

fore blowing me back down to sea level

The scenery was spectacular with water-

falls plunging into the ocean waves that

invited me in for a salty bath and camp

grounds with the star lit sky as the only

light source

Californiarsquos animals are full of charac-

ter Cute and clever raccoons ran their

nightly raids in search of food around my

tent During the day frisky squirrels jumped

in the ed and azy eephant ea took

naps on the beach The city animals

have had a make-over to match the de-

signer handbags that they sit in Spoiled

pets were pampered in cat-spas in glitzy

lo Angee and ate gazed dog bicit

from the bakeries of wealthy Carmel In

the beach town of Solana pet owners

could even book a consultation for advice

on reducing the climate change impact

of their animalrsquos high carbon lifestyle

All of the pets and people who peek out

from a fashionable handbag gaze over aprotective wall watch through their bat-

mobile car window or look beyond the

aticia andcape of a gof coe can

still enjoy the true beauty of California

the coast For me it was amazing to see

eappeaing view of the Pacic Ocean It

was there next to the Santa Barbara col-

lege house that I stayed in It was thereas I stretched my calves and thighs after

climbing the Big Sur hills It was there as

I hng ot by the kateboad pak at Ven-

ice Beach It was there as I dried in the

sun after a swim near San Diego and it

will continue to be by my side as I start

cycling through the beauty of Mexico

C A L I F O R N I A N

B E A U T Y

You can follow Hanna Mi Jakobsonrsquosfurther trans-American travels atwwwhannamijakobsoncom

Swedish journalist Hanna Mi Jakobson cycled

the Californian coast in search of new views

BT

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 2136JANUARY 2012 - WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL 21

P h o t o s H A

N N A M I J A K O B S O N

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 2236WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL - JANUARY 201222

As I had been staying in northern

Bangkok it meant that I had to

ride through the city center and

out the other side when it was time to go

I hoped that by leaving at 630am I would

miss all the early morning commuter traf-

c How wog cod I b Fom th mo-ment I left the safety of the hotel car park

I wa attackd by tafc ev with a

my bicycle lights blazing the drivers still

couldnrsquot see me at one point I thought it

might be safer if I turned the lights off be-

cause then at least they wouldnrsquot know

what to aim for During that ride through

the city horns blared all around me andcars driven by madmen desperate to get

to work inched passed me

Cycling manners At t I wa a poit a I cod poi-

bly be lsquorsquocome on guys take your time and

give me a bit of room here after all we

are in this togetherrsquorsquo after about half an

hour of this politeness I managed to get

the sentence down to a couple of choice

words and hand gestures that are under-

stood in most countries Finally after three

hours of madness I managed to reach

the city outskirts and I was completely

lost Following my compass south witha map that was not detailed enough to

show the suburban streets I had to hope

that I wod vtay d a mai ot

Finding heavenIt was now 11am the sun was getting

hot I was tired from that morningrsquos com-

muter adventure and felt it would be goodto hav a ay ih I pottd a ig

that said Jimmies Guest House perfect

I would have somewhere to stay and

hopefully Jimmie could help me with a

detailed route out of the suburbs and

south towards the coast I never found

Jimmy and after an hour of following the

signs I gave up outside the gates to what

B983137983150983143983147983151983147Goodbye

Rob Halkett leaves the Thai capital amid the

sounds of car horns birdsong and ldquohey big spenderrdquo

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 2336JANUARY 2012 - WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL 23

looked like an expensive resort I didnrsquot

care if it cost $1000 a night I just want-

ed off the bike It turned out to be much

cheaper than I thought and would be

the perfect place for an overnight Once

again I was given a small private bunga-

low overlooking a lake The rest of that af-

ternoon was absolute bliss as I watched

birds and other wildlife on the lake

from the comfort of my private balcony

Karaoke contestantsI met the resortrsquos other guests at dinner a

group of pensioners from northern Thai-

land who had traveled down to Bang-kok to perform in a karaoke competition

Karaoke is huge here and every bar or

club and restaurant no matter how big or

small has a karaoke machine Everyone

is welcome to pick up the microphone

and sing I was used to listening to peo-

ple who canrsquot sing perform songs that

should never have been written At din-

ner I listened to ldquomy wayrdquo ldquosomewhere

over the rainbowrdquo ldquosend in the clownsrdquo

and other classic songs from the 50s and

60s sung in Thai it was the most bizarre

evening The group who were all great

fun had brought a professional karaoke

instructor with them and he was busy all

night teaching the contestants how to

sing each song They had noticed that

there was a foreigner in the restaurant

listening to them and clapping at the end

of each song and they were determinedto get me on the stage Fortunately we

cod d othig i egih o th ma-

chine although that was partly my fault

as I had told him to key into the machine

songs by System of a down or Metallica

I went to bed that evening to the sound

of ldquoHey Big Spenderrdquo sung in ThaiBT

For Rob Halkett there is no better way to seethe world than from a bicycle saddle You

can read more stories from his world biketrip at wwwrobsbikeridecom

Photo PAul JeurIssen

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 2436

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 2536JANUARY 2012 - WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL 25

INTERVIEW

Q If you could come back and

ride anywhere in France where

would you go

A evywh

Q And where would you avoid

A Th otkit of Mai

Q Yoursquove cycled all over the

world ndash how does France rate

when you compare it to all the

other exotic destinations yoursquove

written about

A It vy co to th top of th it

Q In your early days you man-

aged to convince lots of non-cy-

cling friends to undertake some

pretty long rides with you Doyou have any advice for cyclists

who have reluctant partners or

friends theyrsquore trying to cajole

along for a ride

A Pg foth ito th kow ndash

its much more fun and much more

memorable than doing something safeand tedious

Q France has some great

routes for families ndash the Loire

the vineyard routes of Gironde

the greenways of Brittany

Youve got two mini-cyclists

of your own who are clock-

ing up the miles ndash whatrsquos so

great about introducing kids

to cycling

A Fdom advt ig ad

noticing things that they never would

when strapped into a vehicle enjoy-

ing life without being reliant on some

computerized gadget being outdoors in

all weathers It also makes them sleep

exceptionally well

Australian cyclist Lynette Eyb startedwwwfreewheelingfrancecom to help other

bicyclists plan their trips through France

BT

Josie Dew is the author of several popularcycling adventure books such as ldquoTheWind in My Wheels Travel Tales from the

Saddlerdquo and ldquoA Ride in the Neon Sun AGaijin in Japanrdquo For more information see

wwwjosiedewcom

ldquoFrench people like

cyclists even ones

with panniersrdquo

Q What three items canrsquot you

cycle without

A Tt to-cip ad a mii lathma

Q Any nal words of advice for

people thinking about cycling in

France

A Tat with xtm catio th biq-

ito igpot that poit TOuTes

DIreCTIOns How ca yo go i a

directions at once especially when its

pointing in the opposite direction from

the one you want to go

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 2636WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL - JANUARY 201226

BENJAMIN JACOBwwwglobecyclersde

China

Image Roadthe

from

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 2736JANUARY 2012 - WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL 27

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 2836WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL - JANUARY 201228

FABIAN NAWRATH

wwwafricabybikede

Uganda Image Roadthe

from

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 2936JANUARY 2012 - WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL 29

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3036WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL - JANUARY 201230

PAUL JEURISSENwwwpauljeurissennl

India

Image Roadthe

from

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3136JANUARY 2012 - WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL 31

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3236WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL - JANUARY 201232

Not being able to go pee barefoot

in the middle of the nightrdquo Aicia ua wwwrodadasnet

ldquoMy WardrobeEvery girl should have more

than 3 sets of clothes to choose from

H loyd httphelenstakeoncom

ldquoNadda nil nix zippo zilch zip

lotta Hdo wwwskalatitudecom

Longing for

My kitchen - as a hungry cyclist

I dream about itrdquoTom Kevill-Davies wwwhungrycyclistcom

ldquoThe comfort of my own toilet

Dennis Koomen

wwwtoko-op-etsvakantienl

Facebook as I do not take a

smartphone on my tripsrdquoDirk van Hulle

wwwfacebookcomdirkvanhulle

Monday morning tube ride into

lodorsquo rat racrdquoHenry Brydon wwwtheblazingsaddlescom

rdquo

ldquo

rdquo

rdquo

rdquo

rdquo

Twitt - it i difct to cyc ad twtrdquoSimon Stewart wwwsilk-wheelscom

Sitting on the coach watchingmovies with my familyrdquoDustin Orrick wwwwork2ridecom

Clearly marked prices when shoppingrdquoFred Spengler

wwwcrazyguyonabikecomonrbikes

ldquoShoes that donrsquot go ldquoclick clickrdquo

when you walk

Guy Moodie wwwabikejourneycom

ldquoNot having to put on

frozen shoes in the morningThoma riy

wwwaroundtheworldforwatercouk

Anything that casts a shadow

resting in the shaderdquoDavid Gregory wwwboomersonbikescom

ldquo A loud stereo - to drown out the sound

of big trucks and noisy carsDave Conroy wwwtiredotca

What do cyclists miss on their trips

ldquoChairman Meowthe coolest cat in Canada

Mike Boles httpmikeonbikewordpresscom

ldquoKnowing the name of the place Irsquom

headed to when asked where Irsquom going

emma Phipott wwwrolling-talescom

Photo PAul JeurIssen

rdquo

rdquo

rdquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3336

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3436WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL - JANUARY 201234

SPEEDSTERS By STEVE FABES

COLUMN

Chances are you have met one Phap yo v a o Had ow back amot hoizota max-

imum two panniers and eyes scanning the trailing asphalt ner-

voy taig tig gac at th odomt Itrsquo th spdt

The

During my journey Irsquove

met many cyclists striving

to ride the length of Africa

in just four months many

others are chasing world

records and several orga-

nized tours have sproutedup in recent years making

The Speedster as ubiqui-

tous in this world as drunk

British nineteen year olds on Gap Years

This entity seems to exist only on

busy highways and dreary uninspir-

ing parts of the world never on rough

roads never in those wild placesWhen we do cross paths the conver-

sation follows a predictable pattern

often beginning with ldquoSo how many ki-

lometres have you comerdquo Followed

swiftly by ldquoAnd how long did that takerdquo

Cue furrowed brow mental arithmetic

is in progress as The Speedster tries to

calculate exactly how many more kilome-

tres they cover per month than you do

Itrsquos a shame that wersquove entered an era

of fast and furious bike adventures I canrsquot

help but wonder whether

people are forgetting what

for me is the ultimate high

of traveling by bicycle - the

slow transition The bicycle

is simply one of the best

mediums to explore a coun-try in detail As one place

slowly merges with another

bicycle travelers watch the

world evolve Why race through To see

a lot but to experience little By setting a

time limit you beef up the challenge but

acic omthig that to m at at i

far more important - the adventure Thetimes I have felt most alive have been

on those dusty tracks at the very edge of

civilization The times Irsquove relished more

than any other have been when Irsquove tak-

en up offers of hospitality from local peo-

ple offers which I presume would often

be declined by the speed freaks all in the

name of a few more miles before sunset

Phap Irsquom vgig o big o of

those conceited know-it-alls the type of

irritating traveler who seems convinced

P h o t o S T E

V E F A B E S

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3536JANUARY 2012 - WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL 35

Dr Steve Fabes aims to cycle the length ofthe 6 continents while raising money for the

UK health charity Merlin You can followSteve at wwwcyclingthe6blogspotcom

CONTRIBUTORSthey are exploring the world in a superior

way than most but why not take more

time to look around Constantly dwell-

ing on distance and on time and on the

future means you forget to be surprised

by the present Why not resist always

taking the shortest or the easiest path

loop a ptti tha taight i

Shrug off that addiction to asphalt Take

time to banter with passersby and every

once in a while take a detour through a

town or village just because it has a fun-

ny sounding name on the map

And to The Speedsters out there I

have a few suggestions to make life eas-ier First off - a urinary catheter to oblit-

erate the need for all those time wast-

ing toilet stops A straw into your mouth

connected to a huge hat containing car-

bo-rich liquidized mush the kind of stuff

NASA gives to its astronauts And lastly

a tiny video camera on the handlebars

recording everything that occurs outsideyo twty dg via d That way

if something interesting happens to your

left or right therersquos no need to turn your

had catig dag ad acicig v-

locity Just watch it on tape afterwards in

the comfort of your own home whilst you

tell your friends and family how amazing

the experience was although you wishthat puncture on the N2 hadnacutet dented

your November average And next time

we meet - have some empathy please

Wersquore not all like you so letrsquos not talk in

numbers Tell me a good story insteadBT

AALDRIK MULDER

ALICIA URREA

ALVARO NEIL

AMAYA WILLIAMS

ANDREW MORGAN

ANDREW SYKES

BENJAMIN JACOB

DAVE CONROY

DAVID GREGORY

DAVID PIPER

DEAN CLEMENTSON

DENNIS KOOMEN

DIRK VAN HULLE

DUSTIN ORRICK

ED BRABANDER

EMMA PHILPOTT

FABIAN NAWRATH

FEARGHAL ONUALLAIN

FRED SPENGLER

FRIEDEL GRANT

GUY MOODIE

HANNA MI JAKOBSON

HARRY WAGENAAR

HELEN LLOYD

HENRIK RISAGER

HENRY BRYDON

JACK MOORE

JANYIS WATSON

JARED MITCHELL

JOSIE DEW

KATIE TIBBETTS

LEONARDO CORRADINI

LIZ WILTON

LORETTA HENDERSON

LYNETTE EYB

MARC FREEDMAN

MIKE BOLES

MIRJAM WOUTERS

PAUL JEURISSEN

RACHEL HUGENS

ROB HALKETT

ROB LUCAS

RUDI VERHAGEN

SCOTT STOLL

SHANE LITTLE

SIMON STEWART

STEVE FABES

THOMAS RILEY

TOM KEVILL-DAVIES

TYLER KELLEN

WILLEM MEGENS

rciv a SHOW IT book

with your FREE subscription to

Bicycle Traveler magazinewwwbicycletravelernl

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3636

Photo FEARGHAL Orsquo NUALLAIN

TravelerBicycle

Parting shot

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 1436WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL - JANUARY 201214

IcelandWillem Megens and Rudi Verhagen experienceIcelandrsquos dramatic landscape as they cycle

around the Vatnajoumlkull glacierPhotos WILLEM MEGENS amp RUDI VERHAGEN

PHOTO STORY

Photo WILLEM MEGENS

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 1536JANUARY 2012 - WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL 15

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 1636WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL - JANUARY 201216

Watching icebergs drift by at Joumlkulsaacuterloacuten

Photo RUDI VERHAGEN

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 1736JANUARY 2012 - WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL 17

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 1836WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL - JANUARY 201218

65

4

3

2

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 1936JANUARY 2012 - WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL 19

1 The turquoise lake of Kraa

2 Rudi relaxes at Stafafell campsite

3 Willem crosses the Syri Oacutefael river

4 Church near Uljoacutetsvatn

5 Loose sand on the jeep track to

Hviacutetaacuternes lake 6 Curious locals

Willem and Rudi love bicycletouring since it gives them a sense

of freedom and satisfactionYou can see more of their photos

at httpthemeegnl

Photo cdit 2 4 5 Wim Mg

1 3 6 rdi Vhag

1

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 2036WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL - JANUARY 201220

Southern California is a blend of

the athentic and the aticia

The natural landscape continu-

ously shifts between green hills rugged

cliffs and sandy dunes One reoccur-

ring feature is the golf course I imagine

the golf players live in the ritzy and rich

neighborhoods that I passed on the way

such as Monterey with all its grand vil-

las protected by high walls and Malibursquos

fenced in fancy houses that occupy en-

tire beaches I did not go behind those

glamorous facades but outside of them I

met several genuine generous and gor-geous people

As I bicycled past the high walls and

private beaches the Big Sur coast ap-

peared in all its simple beauty The luxury

life sometimes drove by me in the shape

of fast cars that looked like bat-mobiles

and suV the ength of imoine sti

I cycled on with the help of the wind Itpushed me up the high hills and treated

me with splendid views from the top be-

fore blowing me back down to sea level

The scenery was spectacular with water-

falls plunging into the ocean waves that

invited me in for a salty bath and camp

grounds with the star lit sky as the only

light source

Californiarsquos animals are full of charac-

ter Cute and clever raccoons ran their

nightly raids in search of food around my

tent During the day frisky squirrels jumped

in the ed and azy eephant ea took

naps on the beach The city animals

have had a make-over to match the de-

signer handbags that they sit in Spoiled

pets were pampered in cat-spas in glitzy

lo Angee and ate gazed dog bicit

from the bakeries of wealthy Carmel In

the beach town of Solana pet owners

could even book a consultation for advice

on reducing the climate change impact

of their animalrsquos high carbon lifestyle

All of the pets and people who peek out

from a fashionable handbag gaze over aprotective wall watch through their bat-

mobile car window or look beyond the

aticia andcape of a gof coe can

still enjoy the true beauty of California

the coast For me it was amazing to see

eappeaing view of the Pacic Ocean It

was there next to the Santa Barbara col-

lege house that I stayed in It was thereas I stretched my calves and thighs after

climbing the Big Sur hills It was there as

I hng ot by the kateboad pak at Ven-

ice Beach It was there as I dried in the

sun after a swim near San Diego and it

will continue to be by my side as I start

cycling through the beauty of Mexico

C A L I F O R N I A N

B E A U T Y

You can follow Hanna Mi Jakobsonrsquosfurther trans-American travels atwwwhannamijakobsoncom

Swedish journalist Hanna Mi Jakobson cycled

the Californian coast in search of new views

BT

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 2136JANUARY 2012 - WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL 21

P h o t o s H A

N N A M I J A K O B S O N

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 2236WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL - JANUARY 201222

As I had been staying in northern

Bangkok it meant that I had to

ride through the city center and

out the other side when it was time to go

I hoped that by leaving at 630am I would

miss all the early morning commuter traf-

c How wog cod I b Fom th mo-ment I left the safety of the hotel car park

I wa attackd by tafc ev with a

my bicycle lights blazing the drivers still

couldnrsquot see me at one point I thought it

might be safer if I turned the lights off be-

cause then at least they wouldnrsquot know

what to aim for During that ride through

the city horns blared all around me andcars driven by madmen desperate to get

to work inched passed me

Cycling manners At t I wa a poit a I cod poi-

bly be lsquorsquocome on guys take your time and

give me a bit of room here after all we

are in this togetherrsquorsquo after about half an

hour of this politeness I managed to get

the sentence down to a couple of choice

words and hand gestures that are under-

stood in most countries Finally after three

hours of madness I managed to reach

the city outskirts and I was completely

lost Following my compass south witha map that was not detailed enough to

show the suburban streets I had to hope

that I wod vtay d a mai ot

Finding heavenIt was now 11am the sun was getting

hot I was tired from that morningrsquos com-

muter adventure and felt it would be goodto hav a ay ih I pottd a ig

that said Jimmies Guest House perfect

I would have somewhere to stay and

hopefully Jimmie could help me with a

detailed route out of the suburbs and

south towards the coast I never found

Jimmy and after an hour of following the

signs I gave up outside the gates to what

B983137983150983143983147983151983147Goodbye

Rob Halkett leaves the Thai capital amid the

sounds of car horns birdsong and ldquohey big spenderrdquo

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 2336JANUARY 2012 - WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL 23

looked like an expensive resort I didnrsquot

care if it cost $1000 a night I just want-

ed off the bike It turned out to be much

cheaper than I thought and would be

the perfect place for an overnight Once

again I was given a small private bunga-

low overlooking a lake The rest of that af-

ternoon was absolute bliss as I watched

birds and other wildlife on the lake

from the comfort of my private balcony

Karaoke contestantsI met the resortrsquos other guests at dinner a

group of pensioners from northern Thai-

land who had traveled down to Bang-kok to perform in a karaoke competition

Karaoke is huge here and every bar or

club and restaurant no matter how big or

small has a karaoke machine Everyone

is welcome to pick up the microphone

and sing I was used to listening to peo-

ple who canrsquot sing perform songs that

should never have been written At din-

ner I listened to ldquomy wayrdquo ldquosomewhere

over the rainbowrdquo ldquosend in the clownsrdquo

and other classic songs from the 50s and

60s sung in Thai it was the most bizarre

evening The group who were all great

fun had brought a professional karaoke

instructor with them and he was busy all

night teaching the contestants how to

sing each song They had noticed that

there was a foreigner in the restaurant

listening to them and clapping at the end

of each song and they were determinedto get me on the stage Fortunately we

cod d othig i egih o th ma-

chine although that was partly my fault

as I had told him to key into the machine

songs by System of a down or Metallica

I went to bed that evening to the sound

of ldquoHey Big Spenderrdquo sung in ThaiBT

For Rob Halkett there is no better way to seethe world than from a bicycle saddle You

can read more stories from his world biketrip at wwwrobsbikeridecom

Photo PAul JeurIssen

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 2436

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 2536JANUARY 2012 - WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL 25

INTERVIEW

Q If you could come back and

ride anywhere in France where

would you go

A evywh

Q And where would you avoid

A Th otkit of Mai

Q Yoursquove cycled all over the

world ndash how does France rate

when you compare it to all the

other exotic destinations yoursquove

written about

A It vy co to th top of th it

Q In your early days you man-

aged to convince lots of non-cy-

cling friends to undertake some

pretty long rides with you Doyou have any advice for cyclists

who have reluctant partners or

friends theyrsquore trying to cajole

along for a ride

A Pg foth ito th kow ndash

its much more fun and much more

memorable than doing something safeand tedious

Q France has some great

routes for families ndash the Loire

the vineyard routes of Gironde

the greenways of Brittany

Youve got two mini-cyclists

of your own who are clock-

ing up the miles ndash whatrsquos so

great about introducing kids

to cycling

A Fdom advt ig ad

noticing things that they never would

when strapped into a vehicle enjoy-

ing life without being reliant on some

computerized gadget being outdoors in

all weathers It also makes them sleep

exceptionally well

Australian cyclist Lynette Eyb startedwwwfreewheelingfrancecom to help other

bicyclists plan their trips through France

BT

Josie Dew is the author of several popularcycling adventure books such as ldquoTheWind in My Wheels Travel Tales from the

Saddlerdquo and ldquoA Ride in the Neon Sun AGaijin in Japanrdquo For more information see

wwwjosiedewcom

ldquoFrench people like

cyclists even ones

with panniersrdquo

Q What three items canrsquot you

cycle without

A Tt to-cip ad a mii lathma

Q Any nal words of advice for

people thinking about cycling in

France

A Tat with xtm catio th biq-

ito igpot that poit TOuTes

DIreCTIOns How ca yo go i a

directions at once especially when its

pointing in the opposite direction from

the one you want to go

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 2636WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL - JANUARY 201226

BENJAMIN JACOBwwwglobecyclersde

China

Image Roadthe

from

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 2736JANUARY 2012 - WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL 27

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 2836WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL - JANUARY 201228

FABIAN NAWRATH

wwwafricabybikede

Uganda Image Roadthe

from

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 2936JANUARY 2012 - WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL 29

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3036WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL - JANUARY 201230

PAUL JEURISSENwwwpauljeurissennl

India

Image Roadthe

from

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3136JANUARY 2012 - WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL 31

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3236WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL - JANUARY 201232

Not being able to go pee barefoot

in the middle of the nightrdquo Aicia ua wwwrodadasnet

ldquoMy WardrobeEvery girl should have more

than 3 sets of clothes to choose from

H loyd httphelenstakeoncom

ldquoNadda nil nix zippo zilch zip

lotta Hdo wwwskalatitudecom

Longing for

My kitchen - as a hungry cyclist

I dream about itrdquoTom Kevill-Davies wwwhungrycyclistcom

ldquoThe comfort of my own toilet

Dennis Koomen

wwwtoko-op-etsvakantienl

Facebook as I do not take a

smartphone on my tripsrdquoDirk van Hulle

wwwfacebookcomdirkvanhulle

Monday morning tube ride into

lodorsquo rat racrdquoHenry Brydon wwwtheblazingsaddlescom

rdquo

ldquo

rdquo

rdquo

rdquo

rdquo

Twitt - it i difct to cyc ad twtrdquoSimon Stewart wwwsilk-wheelscom

Sitting on the coach watchingmovies with my familyrdquoDustin Orrick wwwwork2ridecom

Clearly marked prices when shoppingrdquoFred Spengler

wwwcrazyguyonabikecomonrbikes

ldquoShoes that donrsquot go ldquoclick clickrdquo

when you walk

Guy Moodie wwwabikejourneycom

ldquoNot having to put on

frozen shoes in the morningThoma riy

wwwaroundtheworldforwatercouk

Anything that casts a shadow

resting in the shaderdquoDavid Gregory wwwboomersonbikescom

ldquo A loud stereo - to drown out the sound

of big trucks and noisy carsDave Conroy wwwtiredotca

What do cyclists miss on their trips

ldquoChairman Meowthe coolest cat in Canada

Mike Boles httpmikeonbikewordpresscom

ldquoKnowing the name of the place Irsquom

headed to when asked where Irsquom going

emma Phipott wwwrolling-talescom

Photo PAul JeurIssen

rdquo

rdquo

rdquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3336

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3436WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL - JANUARY 201234

SPEEDSTERS By STEVE FABES

COLUMN

Chances are you have met one Phap yo v a o Had ow back amot hoizota max-

imum two panniers and eyes scanning the trailing asphalt ner-

voy taig tig gac at th odomt Itrsquo th spdt

The

During my journey Irsquove

met many cyclists striving

to ride the length of Africa

in just four months many

others are chasing world

records and several orga-

nized tours have sproutedup in recent years making

The Speedster as ubiqui-

tous in this world as drunk

British nineteen year olds on Gap Years

This entity seems to exist only on

busy highways and dreary uninspir-

ing parts of the world never on rough

roads never in those wild placesWhen we do cross paths the conver-

sation follows a predictable pattern

often beginning with ldquoSo how many ki-

lometres have you comerdquo Followed

swiftly by ldquoAnd how long did that takerdquo

Cue furrowed brow mental arithmetic

is in progress as The Speedster tries to

calculate exactly how many more kilome-

tres they cover per month than you do

Itrsquos a shame that wersquove entered an era

of fast and furious bike adventures I canrsquot

help but wonder whether

people are forgetting what

for me is the ultimate high

of traveling by bicycle - the

slow transition The bicycle

is simply one of the best

mediums to explore a coun-try in detail As one place

slowly merges with another

bicycle travelers watch the

world evolve Why race through To see

a lot but to experience little By setting a

time limit you beef up the challenge but

acic omthig that to m at at i

far more important - the adventure Thetimes I have felt most alive have been

on those dusty tracks at the very edge of

civilization The times Irsquove relished more

than any other have been when Irsquove tak-

en up offers of hospitality from local peo-

ple offers which I presume would often

be declined by the speed freaks all in the

name of a few more miles before sunset

Phap Irsquom vgig o big o of

those conceited know-it-alls the type of

irritating traveler who seems convinced

P h o t o S T E

V E F A B E S

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3536JANUARY 2012 - WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL 35

Dr Steve Fabes aims to cycle the length ofthe 6 continents while raising money for the

UK health charity Merlin You can followSteve at wwwcyclingthe6blogspotcom

CONTRIBUTORSthey are exploring the world in a superior

way than most but why not take more

time to look around Constantly dwell-

ing on distance and on time and on the

future means you forget to be surprised

by the present Why not resist always

taking the shortest or the easiest path

loop a ptti tha taight i

Shrug off that addiction to asphalt Take

time to banter with passersby and every

once in a while take a detour through a

town or village just because it has a fun-

ny sounding name on the map

And to The Speedsters out there I

have a few suggestions to make life eas-ier First off - a urinary catheter to oblit-

erate the need for all those time wast-

ing toilet stops A straw into your mouth

connected to a huge hat containing car-

bo-rich liquidized mush the kind of stuff

NASA gives to its astronauts And lastly

a tiny video camera on the handlebars

recording everything that occurs outsideyo twty dg via d That way

if something interesting happens to your

left or right therersquos no need to turn your

had catig dag ad acicig v-

locity Just watch it on tape afterwards in

the comfort of your own home whilst you

tell your friends and family how amazing

the experience was although you wishthat puncture on the N2 hadnacutet dented

your November average And next time

we meet - have some empathy please

Wersquore not all like you so letrsquos not talk in

numbers Tell me a good story insteadBT

AALDRIK MULDER

ALICIA URREA

ALVARO NEIL

AMAYA WILLIAMS

ANDREW MORGAN

ANDREW SYKES

BENJAMIN JACOB

DAVE CONROY

DAVID GREGORY

DAVID PIPER

DEAN CLEMENTSON

DENNIS KOOMEN

DIRK VAN HULLE

DUSTIN ORRICK

ED BRABANDER

EMMA PHILPOTT

FABIAN NAWRATH

FEARGHAL ONUALLAIN

FRED SPENGLER

FRIEDEL GRANT

GUY MOODIE

HANNA MI JAKOBSON

HARRY WAGENAAR

HELEN LLOYD

HENRIK RISAGER

HENRY BRYDON

JACK MOORE

JANYIS WATSON

JARED MITCHELL

JOSIE DEW

KATIE TIBBETTS

LEONARDO CORRADINI

LIZ WILTON

LORETTA HENDERSON

LYNETTE EYB

MARC FREEDMAN

MIKE BOLES

MIRJAM WOUTERS

PAUL JEURISSEN

RACHEL HUGENS

ROB HALKETT

ROB LUCAS

RUDI VERHAGEN

SCOTT STOLL

SHANE LITTLE

SIMON STEWART

STEVE FABES

THOMAS RILEY

TOM KEVILL-DAVIES

TYLER KELLEN

WILLEM MEGENS

rciv a SHOW IT book

with your FREE subscription to

Bicycle Traveler magazinewwwbicycletravelernl

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3636

Photo FEARGHAL Orsquo NUALLAIN

TravelerBicycle

Parting shot

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 1536JANUARY 2012 - WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL 15

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 1636WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL - JANUARY 201216

Watching icebergs drift by at Joumlkulsaacuterloacuten

Photo RUDI VERHAGEN

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 1736JANUARY 2012 - WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL 17

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 1836WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL - JANUARY 201218

65

4

3

2

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 1936JANUARY 2012 - WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL 19

1 The turquoise lake of Kraa

2 Rudi relaxes at Stafafell campsite

3 Willem crosses the Syri Oacutefael river

4 Church near Uljoacutetsvatn

5 Loose sand on the jeep track to

Hviacutetaacuternes lake 6 Curious locals

Willem and Rudi love bicycletouring since it gives them a sense

of freedom and satisfactionYou can see more of their photos

at httpthemeegnl

Photo cdit 2 4 5 Wim Mg

1 3 6 rdi Vhag

1

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 2036WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL - JANUARY 201220

Southern California is a blend of

the athentic and the aticia

The natural landscape continu-

ously shifts between green hills rugged

cliffs and sandy dunes One reoccur-

ring feature is the golf course I imagine

the golf players live in the ritzy and rich

neighborhoods that I passed on the way

such as Monterey with all its grand vil-

las protected by high walls and Malibursquos

fenced in fancy houses that occupy en-

tire beaches I did not go behind those

glamorous facades but outside of them I

met several genuine generous and gor-geous people

As I bicycled past the high walls and

private beaches the Big Sur coast ap-

peared in all its simple beauty The luxury

life sometimes drove by me in the shape

of fast cars that looked like bat-mobiles

and suV the ength of imoine sti

I cycled on with the help of the wind Itpushed me up the high hills and treated

me with splendid views from the top be-

fore blowing me back down to sea level

The scenery was spectacular with water-

falls plunging into the ocean waves that

invited me in for a salty bath and camp

grounds with the star lit sky as the only

light source

Californiarsquos animals are full of charac-

ter Cute and clever raccoons ran their

nightly raids in search of food around my

tent During the day frisky squirrels jumped

in the ed and azy eephant ea took

naps on the beach The city animals

have had a make-over to match the de-

signer handbags that they sit in Spoiled

pets were pampered in cat-spas in glitzy

lo Angee and ate gazed dog bicit

from the bakeries of wealthy Carmel In

the beach town of Solana pet owners

could even book a consultation for advice

on reducing the climate change impact

of their animalrsquos high carbon lifestyle

All of the pets and people who peek out

from a fashionable handbag gaze over aprotective wall watch through their bat-

mobile car window or look beyond the

aticia andcape of a gof coe can

still enjoy the true beauty of California

the coast For me it was amazing to see

eappeaing view of the Pacic Ocean It

was there next to the Santa Barbara col-

lege house that I stayed in It was thereas I stretched my calves and thighs after

climbing the Big Sur hills It was there as

I hng ot by the kateboad pak at Ven-

ice Beach It was there as I dried in the

sun after a swim near San Diego and it

will continue to be by my side as I start

cycling through the beauty of Mexico

C A L I F O R N I A N

B E A U T Y

You can follow Hanna Mi Jakobsonrsquosfurther trans-American travels atwwwhannamijakobsoncom

Swedish journalist Hanna Mi Jakobson cycled

the Californian coast in search of new views

BT

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 2136JANUARY 2012 - WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL 21

P h o t o s H A

N N A M I J A K O B S O N

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 2236WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL - JANUARY 201222

As I had been staying in northern

Bangkok it meant that I had to

ride through the city center and

out the other side when it was time to go

I hoped that by leaving at 630am I would

miss all the early morning commuter traf-

c How wog cod I b Fom th mo-ment I left the safety of the hotel car park

I wa attackd by tafc ev with a

my bicycle lights blazing the drivers still

couldnrsquot see me at one point I thought it

might be safer if I turned the lights off be-

cause then at least they wouldnrsquot know

what to aim for During that ride through

the city horns blared all around me andcars driven by madmen desperate to get

to work inched passed me

Cycling manners At t I wa a poit a I cod poi-

bly be lsquorsquocome on guys take your time and

give me a bit of room here after all we

are in this togetherrsquorsquo after about half an

hour of this politeness I managed to get

the sentence down to a couple of choice

words and hand gestures that are under-

stood in most countries Finally after three

hours of madness I managed to reach

the city outskirts and I was completely

lost Following my compass south witha map that was not detailed enough to

show the suburban streets I had to hope

that I wod vtay d a mai ot

Finding heavenIt was now 11am the sun was getting

hot I was tired from that morningrsquos com-

muter adventure and felt it would be goodto hav a ay ih I pottd a ig

that said Jimmies Guest House perfect

I would have somewhere to stay and

hopefully Jimmie could help me with a

detailed route out of the suburbs and

south towards the coast I never found

Jimmy and after an hour of following the

signs I gave up outside the gates to what

B983137983150983143983147983151983147Goodbye

Rob Halkett leaves the Thai capital amid the

sounds of car horns birdsong and ldquohey big spenderrdquo

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 2336JANUARY 2012 - WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL 23

looked like an expensive resort I didnrsquot

care if it cost $1000 a night I just want-

ed off the bike It turned out to be much

cheaper than I thought and would be

the perfect place for an overnight Once

again I was given a small private bunga-

low overlooking a lake The rest of that af-

ternoon was absolute bliss as I watched

birds and other wildlife on the lake

from the comfort of my private balcony

Karaoke contestantsI met the resortrsquos other guests at dinner a

group of pensioners from northern Thai-

land who had traveled down to Bang-kok to perform in a karaoke competition

Karaoke is huge here and every bar or

club and restaurant no matter how big or

small has a karaoke machine Everyone

is welcome to pick up the microphone

and sing I was used to listening to peo-

ple who canrsquot sing perform songs that

should never have been written At din-

ner I listened to ldquomy wayrdquo ldquosomewhere

over the rainbowrdquo ldquosend in the clownsrdquo

and other classic songs from the 50s and

60s sung in Thai it was the most bizarre

evening The group who were all great

fun had brought a professional karaoke

instructor with them and he was busy all

night teaching the contestants how to

sing each song They had noticed that

there was a foreigner in the restaurant

listening to them and clapping at the end

of each song and they were determinedto get me on the stage Fortunately we

cod d othig i egih o th ma-

chine although that was partly my fault

as I had told him to key into the machine

songs by System of a down or Metallica

I went to bed that evening to the sound

of ldquoHey Big Spenderrdquo sung in ThaiBT

For Rob Halkett there is no better way to seethe world than from a bicycle saddle You

can read more stories from his world biketrip at wwwrobsbikeridecom

Photo PAul JeurIssen

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 2436

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 2536JANUARY 2012 - WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL 25

INTERVIEW

Q If you could come back and

ride anywhere in France where

would you go

A evywh

Q And where would you avoid

A Th otkit of Mai

Q Yoursquove cycled all over the

world ndash how does France rate

when you compare it to all the

other exotic destinations yoursquove

written about

A It vy co to th top of th it

Q In your early days you man-

aged to convince lots of non-cy-

cling friends to undertake some

pretty long rides with you Doyou have any advice for cyclists

who have reluctant partners or

friends theyrsquore trying to cajole

along for a ride

A Pg foth ito th kow ndash

its much more fun and much more

memorable than doing something safeand tedious

Q France has some great

routes for families ndash the Loire

the vineyard routes of Gironde

the greenways of Brittany

Youve got two mini-cyclists

of your own who are clock-

ing up the miles ndash whatrsquos so

great about introducing kids

to cycling

A Fdom advt ig ad

noticing things that they never would

when strapped into a vehicle enjoy-

ing life without being reliant on some

computerized gadget being outdoors in

all weathers It also makes them sleep

exceptionally well

Australian cyclist Lynette Eyb startedwwwfreewheelingfrancecom to help other

bicyclists plan their trips through France

BT

Josie Dew is the author of several popularcycling adventure books such as ldquoTheWind in My Wheels Travel Tales from the

Saddlerdquo and ldquoA Ride in the Neon Sun AGaijin in Japanrdquo For more information see

wwwjosiedewcom

ldquoFrench people like

cyclists even ones

with panniersrdquo

Q What three items canrsquot you

cycle without

A Tt to-cip ad a mii lathma

Q Any nal words of advice for

people thinking about cycling in

France

A Tat with xtm catio th biq-

ito igpot that poit TOuTes

DIreCTIOns How ca yo go i a

directions at once especially when its

pointing in the opposite direction from

the one you want to go

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 2636WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL - JANUARY 201226

BENJAMIN JACOBwwwglobecyclersde

China

Image Roadthe

from

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 2736JANUARY 2012 - WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL 27

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 2836WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL - JANUARY 201228

FABIAN NAWRATH

wwwafricabybikede

Uganda Image Roadthe

from

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 2936JANUARY 2012 - WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL 29

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3036WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL - JANUARY 201230

PAUL JEURISSENwwwpauljeurissennl

India

Image Roadthe

from

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3136JANUARY 2012 - WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL 31

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3236WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL - JANUARY 201232

Not being able to go pee barefoot

in the middle of the nightrdquo Aicia ua wwwrodadasnet

ldquoMy WardrobeEvery girl should have more

than 3 sets of clothes to choose from

H loyd httphelenstakeoncom

ldquoNadda nil nix zippo zilch zip

lotta Hdo wwwskalatitudecom

Longing for

My kitchen - as a hungry cyclist

I dream about itrdquoTom Kevill-Davies wwwhungrycyclistcom

ldquoThe comfort of my own toilet

Dennis Koomen

wwwtoko-op-etsvakantienl

Facebook as I do not take a

smartphone on my tripsrdquoDirk van Hulle

wwwfacebookcomdirkvanhulle

Monday morning tube ride into

lodorsquo rat racrdquoHenry Brydon wwwtheblazingsaddlescom

rdquo

ldquo

rdquo

rdquo

rdquo

rdquo

Twitt - it i difct to cyc ad twtrdquoSimon Stewart wwwsilk-wheelscom

Sitting on the coach watchingmovies with my familyrdquoDustin Orrick wwwwork2ridecom

Clearly marked prices when shoppingrdquoFred Spengler

wwwcrazyguyonabikecomonrbikes

ldquoShoes that donrsquot go ldquoclick clickrdquo

when you walk

Guy Moodie wwwabikejourneycom

ldquoNot having to put on

frozen shoes in the morningThoma riy

wwwaroundtheworldforwatercouk

Anything that casts a shadow

resting in the shaderdquoDavid Gregory wwwboomersonbikescom

ldquo A loud stereo - to drown out the sound

of big trucks and noisy carsDave Conroy wwwtiredotca

What do cyclists miss on their trips

ldquoChairman Meowthe coolest cat in Canada

Mike Boles httpmikeonbikewordpresscom

ldquoKnowing the name of the place Irsquom

headed to when asked where Irsquom going

emma Phipott wwwrolling-talescom

Photo PAul JeurIssen

rdquo

rdquo

rdquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3336

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3436WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL - JANUARY 201234

SPEEDSTERS By STEVE FABES

COLUMN

Chances are you have met one Phap yo v a o Had ow back amot hoizota max-

imum two panniers and eyes scanning the trailing asphalt ner-

voy taig tig gac at th odomt Itrsquo th spdt

The

During my journey Irsquove

met many cyclists striving

to ride the length of Africa

in just four months many

others are chasing world

records and several orga-

nized tours have sproutedup in recent years making

The Speedster as ubiqui-

tous in this world as drunk

British nineteen year olds on Gap Years

This entity seems to exist only on

busy highways and dreary uninspir-

ing parts of the world never on rough

roads never in those wild placesWhen we do cross paths the conver-

sation follows a predictable pattern

often beginning with ldquoSo how many ki-

lometres have you comerdquo Followed

swiftly by ldquoAnd how long did that takerdquo

Cue furrowed brow mental arithmetic

is in progress as The Speedster tries to

calculate exactly how many more kilome-

tres they cover per month than you do

Itrsquos a shame that wersquove entered an era

of fast and furious bike adventures I canrsquot

help but wonder whether

people are forgetting what

for me is the ultimate high

of traveling by bicycle - the

slow transition The bicycle

is simply one of the best

mediums to explore a coun-try in detail As one place

slowly merges with another

bicycle travelers watch the

world evolve Why race through To see

a lot but to experience little By setting a

time limit you beef up the challenge but

acic omthig that to m at at i

far more important - the adventure Thetimes I have felt most alive have been

on those dusty tracks at the very edge of

civilization The times Irsquove relished more

than any other have been when Irsquove tak-

en up offers of hospitality from local peo-

ple offers which I presume would often

be declined by the speed freaks all in the

name of a few more miles before sunset

Phap Irsquom vgig o big o of

those conceited know-it-alls the type of

irritating traveler who seems convinced

P h o t o S T E

V E F A B E S

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3536JANUARY 2012 - WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL 35

Dr Steve Fabes aims to cycle the length ofthe 6 continents while raising money for the

UK health charity Merlin You can followSteve at wwwcyclingthe6blogspotcom

CONTRIBUTORSthey are exploring the world in a superior

way than most but why not take more

time to look around Constantly dwell-

ing on distance and on time and on the

future means you forget to be surprised

by the present Why not resist always

taking the shortest or the easiest path

loop a ptti tha taight i

Shrug off that addiction to asphalt Take

time to banter with passersby and every

once in a while take a detour through a

town or village just because it has a fun-

ny sounding name on the map

And to The Speedsters out there I

have a few suggestions to make life eas-ier First off - a urinary catheter to oblit-

erate the need for all those time wast-

ing toilet stops A straw into your mouth

connected to a huge hat containing car-

bo-rich liquidized mush the kind of stuff

NASA gives to its astronauts And lastly

a tiny video camera on the handlebars

recording everything that occurs outsideyo twty dg via d That way

if something interesting happens to your

left or right therersquos no need to turn your

had catig dag ad acicig v-

locity Just watch it on tape afterwards in

the comfort of your own home whilst you

tell your friends and family how amazing

the experience was although you wishthat puncture on the N2 hadnacutet dented

your November average And next time

we meet - have some empathy please

Wersquore not all like you so letrsquos not talk in

numbers Tell me a good story insteadBT

AALDRIK MULDER

ALICIA URREA

ALVARO NEIL

AMAYA WILLIAMS

ANDREW MORGAN

ANDREW SYKES

BENJAMIN JACOB

DAVE CONROY

DAVID GREGORY

DAVID PIPER

DEAN CLEMENTSON

DENNIS KOOMEN

DIRK VAN HULLE

DUSTIN ORRICK

ED BRABANDER

EMMA PHILPOTT

FABIAN NAWRATH

FEARGHAL ONUALLAIN

FRED SPENGLER

FRIEDEL GRANT

GUY MOODIE

HANNA MI JAKOBSON

HARRY WAGENAAR

HELEN LLOYD

HENRIK RISAGER

HENRY BRYDON

JACK MOORE

JANYIS WATSON

JARED MITCHELL

JOSIE DEW

KATIE TIBBETTS

LEONARDO CORRADINI

LIZ WILTON

LORETTA HENDERSON

LYNETTE EYB

MARC FREEDMAN

MIKE BOLES

MIRJAM WOUTERS

PAUL JEURISSEN

RACHEL HUGENS

ROB HALKETT

ROB LUCAS

RUDI VERHAGEN

SCOTT STOLL

SHANE LITTLE

SIMON STEWART

STEVE FABES

THOMAS RILEY

TOM KEVILL-DAVIES

TYLER KELLEN

WILLEM MEGENS

rciv a SHOW IT book

with your FREE subscription to

Bicycle Traveler magazinewwwbicycletravelernl

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3636

Photo FEARGHAL Orsquo NUALLAIN

TravelerBicycle

Parting shot

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 1636WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL - JANUARY 201216

Watching icebergs drift by at Joumlkulsaacuterloacuten

Photo RUDI VERHAGEN

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 1736JANUARY 2012 - WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL 17

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 1836WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL - JANUARY 201218

65

4

3

2

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 1936JANUARY 2012 - WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL 19

1 The turquoise lake of Kraa

2 Rudi relaxes at Stafafell campsite

3 Willem crosses the Syri Oacutefael river

4 Church near Uljoacutetsvatn

5 Loose sand on the jeep track to

Hviacutetaacuternes lake 6 Curious locals

Willem and Rudi love bicycletouring since it gives them a sense

of freedom and satisfactionYou can see more of their photos

at httpthemeegnl

Photo cdit 2 4 5 Wim Mg

1 3 6 rdi Vhag

1

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 2036WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL - JANUARY 201220

Southern California is a blend of

the athentic and the aticia

The natural landscape continu-

ously shifts between green hills rugged

cliffs and sandy dunes One reoccur-

ring feature is the golf course I imagine

the golf players live in the ritzy and rich

neighborhoods that I passed on the way

such as Monterey with all its grand vil-

las protected by high walls and Malibursquos

fenced in fancy houses that occupy en-

tire beaches I did not go behind those

glamorous facades but outside of them I

met several genuine generous and gor-geous people

As I bicycled past the high walls and

private beaches the Big Sur coast ap-

peared in all its simple beauty The luxury

life sometimes drove by me in the shape

of fast cars that looked like bat-mobiles

and suV the ength of imoine sti

I cycled on with the help of the wind Itpushed me up the high hills and treated

me with splendid views from the top be-

fore blowing me back down to sea level

The scenery was spectacular with water-

falls plunging into the ocean waves that

invited me in for a salty bath and camp

grounds with the star lit sky as the only

light source

Californiarsquos animals are full of charac-

ter Cute and clever raccoons ran their

nightly raids in search of food around my

tent During the day frisky squirrels jumped

in the ed and azy eephant ea took

naps on the beach The city animals

have had a make-over to match the de-

signer handbags that they sit in Spoiled

pets were pampered in cat-spas in glitzy

lo Angee and ate gazed dog bicit

from the bakeries of wealthy Carmel In

the beach town of Solana pet owners

could even book a consultation for advice

on reducing the climate change impact

of their animalrsquos high carbon lifestyle

All of the pets and people who peek out

from a fashionable handbag gaze over aprotective wall watch through their bat-

mobile car window or look beyond the

aticia andcape of a gof coe can

still enjoy the true beauty of California

the coast For me it was amazing to see

eappeaing view of the Pacic Ocean It

was there next to the Santa Barbara col-

lege house that I stayed in It was thereas I stretched my calves and thighs after

climbing the Big Sur hills It was there as

I hng ot by the kateboad pak at Ven-

ice Beach It was there as I dried in the

sun after a swim near San Diego and it

will continue to be by my side as I start

cycling through the beauty of Mexico

C A L I F O R N I A N

B E A U T Y

You can follow Hanna Mi Jakobsonrsquosfurther trans-American travels atwwwhannamijakobsoncom

Swedish journalist Hanna Mi Jakobson cycled

the Californian coast in search of new views

BT

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 2136JANUARY 2012 - WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL 21

P h o t o s H A

N N A M I J A K O B S O N

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 2236WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL - JANUARY 201222

As I had been staying in northern

Bangkok it meant that I had to

ride through the city center and

out the other side when it was time to go

I hoped that by leaving at 630am I would

miss all the early morning commuter traf-

c How wog cod I b Fom th mo-ment I left the safety of the hotel car park

I wa attackd by tafc ev with a

my bicycle lights blazing the drivers still

couldnrsquot see me at one point I thought it

might be safer if I turned the lights off be-

cause then at least they wouldnrsquot know

what to aim for During that ride through

the city horns blared all around me andcars driven by madmen desperate to get

to work inched passed me

Cycling manners At t I wa a poit a I cod poi-

bly be lsquorsquocome on guys take your time and

give me a bit of room here after all we

are in this togetherrsquorsquo after about half an

hour of this politeness I managed to get

the sentence down to a couple of choice

words and hand gestures that are under-

stood in most countries Finally after three

hours of madness I managed to reach

the city outskirts and I was completely

lost Following my compass south witha map that was not detailed enough to

show the suburban streets I had to hope

that I wod vtay d a mai ot

Finding heavenIt was now 11am the sun was getting

hot I was tired from that morningrsquos com-

muter adventure and felt it would be goodto hav a ay ih I pottd a ig

that said Jimmies Guest House perfect

I would have somewhere to stay and

hopefully Jimmie could help me with a

detailed route out of the suburbs and

south towards the coast I never found

Jimmy and after an hour of following the

signs I gave up outside the gates to what

B983137983150983143983147983151983147Goodbye

Rob Halkett leaves the Thai capital amid the

sounds of car horns birdsong and ldquohey big spenderrdquo

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 2336JANUARY 2012 - WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL 23

looked like an expensive resort I didnrsquot

care if it cost $1000 a night I just want-

ed off the bike It turned out to be much

cheaper than I thought and would be

the perfect place for an overnight Once

again I was given a small private bunga-

low overlooking a lake The rest of that af-

ternoon was absolute bliss as I watched

birds and other wildlife on the lake

from the comfort of my private balcony

Karaoke contestantsI met the resortrsquos other guests at dinner a

group of pensioners from northern Thai-

land who had traveled down to Bang-kok to perform in a karaoke competition

Karaoke is huge here and every bar or

club and restaurant no matter how big or

small has a karaoke machine Everyone

is welcome to pick up the microphone

and sing I was used to listening to peo-

ple who canrsquot sing perform songs that

should never have been written At din-

ner I listened to ldquomy wayrdquo ldquosomewhere

over the rainbowrdquo ldquosend in the clownsrdquo

and other classic songs from the 50s and

60s sung in Thai it was the most bizarre

evening The group who were all great

fun had brought a professional karaoke

instructor with them and he was busy all

night teaching the contestants how to

sing each song They had noticed that

there was a foreigner in the restaurant

listening to them and clapping at the end

of each song and they were determinedto get me on the stage Fortunately we

cod d othig i egih o th ma-

chine although that was partly my fault

as I had told him to key into the machine

songs by System of a down or Metallica

I went to bed that evening to the sound

of ldquoHey Big Spenderrdquo sung in ThaiBT

For Rob Halkett there is no better way to seethe world than from a bicycle saddle You

can read more stories from his world biketrip at wwwrobsbikeridecom

Photo PAul JeurIssen

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 2436

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 2536JANUARY 2012 - WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL 25

INTERVIEW

Q If you could come back and

ride anywhere in France where

would you go

A evywh

Q And where would you avoid

A Th otkit of Mai

Q Yoursquove cycled all over the

world ndash how does France rate

when you compare it to all the

other exotic destinations yoursquove

written about

A It vy co to th top of th it

Q In your early days you man-

aged to convince lots of non-cy-

cling friends to undertake some

pretty long rides with you Doyou have any advice for cyclists

who have reluctant partners or

friends theyrsquore trying to cajole

along for a ride

A Pg foth ito th kow ndash

its much more fun and much more

memorable than doing something safeand tedious

Q France has some great

routes for families ndash the Loire

the vineyard routes of Gironde

the greenways of Brittany

Youve got two mini-cyclists

of your own who are clock-

ing up the miles ndash whatrsquos so

great about introducing kids

to cycling

A Fdom advt ig ad

noticing things that they never would

when strapped into a vehicle enjoy-

ing life without being reliant on some

computerized gadget being outdoors in

all weathers It also makes them sleep

exceptionally well

Australian cyclist Lynette Eyb startedwwwfreewheelingfrancecom to help other

bicyclists plan their trips through France

BT

Josie Dew is the author of several popularcycling adventure books such as ldquoTheWind in My Wheels Travel Tales from the

Saddlerdquo and ldquoA Ride in the Neon Sun AGaijin in Japanrdquo For more information see

wwwjosiedewcom

ldquoFrench people like

cyclists even ones

with panniersrdquo

Q What three items canrsquot you

cycle without

A Tt to-cip ad a mii lathma

Q Any nal words of advice for

people thinking about cycling in

France

A Tat with xtm catio th biq-

ito igpot that poit TOuTes

DIreCTIOns How ca yo go i a

directions at once especially when its

pointing in the opposite direction from

the one you want to go

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 2636WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL - JANUARY 201226

BENJAMIN JACOBwwwglobecyclersde

China

Image Roadthe

from

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 2736JANUARY 2012 - WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL 27

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 2836WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL - JANUARY 201228

FABIAN NAWRATH

wwwafricabybikede

Uganda Image Roadthe

from

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 2936JANUARY 2012 - WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL 29

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3036WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL - JANUARY 201230

PAUL JEURISSENwwwpauljeurissennl

India

Image Roadthe

from

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3136JANUARY 2012 - WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL 31

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3236WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL - JANUARY 201232

Not being able to go pee barefoot

in the middle of the nightrdquo Aicia ua wwwrodadasnet

ldquoMy WardrobeEvery girl should have more

than 3 sets of clothes to choose from

H loyd httphelenstakeoncom

ldquoNadda nil nix zippo zilch zip

lotta Hdo wwwskalatitudecom

Longing for

My kitchen - as a hungry cyclist

I dream about itrdquoTom Kevill-Davies wwwhungrycyclistcom

ldquoThe comfort of my own toilet

Dennis Koomen

wwwtoko-op-etsvakantienl

Facebook as I do not take a

smartphone on my tripsrdquoDirk van Hulle

wwwfacebookcomdirkvanhulle

Monday morning tube ride into

lodorsquo rat racrdquoHenry Brydon wwwtheblazingsaddlescom

rdquo

ldquo

rdquo

rdquo

rdquo

rdquo

Twitt - it i difct to cyc ad twtrdquoSimon Stewart wwwsilk-wheelscom

Sitting on the coach watchingmovies with my familyrdquoDustin Orrick wwwwork2ridecom

Clearly marked prices when shoppingrdquoFred Spengler

wwwcrazyguyonabikecomonrbikes

ldquoShoes that donrsquot go ldquoclick clickrdquo

when you walk

Guy Moodie wwwabikejourneycom

ldquoNot having to put on

frozen shoes in the morningThoma riy

wwwaroundtheworldforwatercouk

Anything that casts a shadow

resting in the shaderdquoDavid Gregory wwwboomersonbikescom

ldquo A loud stereo - to drown out the sound

of big trucks and noisy carsDave Conroy wwwtiredotca

What do cyclists miss on their trips

ldquoChairman Meowthe coolest cat in Canada

Mike Boles httpmikeonbikewordpresscom

ldquoKnowing the name of the place Irsquom

headed to when asked where Irsquom going

emma Phipott wwwrolling-talescom

Photo PAul JeurIssen

rdquo

rdquo

rdquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3336

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3436WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL - JANUARY 201234

SPEEDSTERS By STEVE FABES

COLUMN

Chances are you have met one Phap yo v a o Had ow back amot hoizota max-

imum two panniers and eyes scanning the trailing asphalt ner-

voy taig tig gac at th odomt Itrsquo th spdt

The

During my journey Irsquove

met many cyclists striving

to ride the length of Africa

in just four months many

others are chasing world

records and several orga-

nized tours have sproutedup in recent years making

The Speedster as ubiqui-

tous in this world as drunk

British nineteen year olds on Gap Years

This entity seems to exist only on

busy highways and dreary uninspir-

ing parts of the world never on rough

roads never in those wild placesWhen we do cross paths the conver-

sation follows a predictable pattern

often beginning with ldquoSo how many ki-

lometres have you comerdquo Followed

swiftly by ldquoAnd how long did that takerdquo

Cue furrowed brow mental arithmetic

is in progress as The Speedster tries to

calculate exactly how many more kilome-

tres they cover per month than you do

Itrsquos a shame that wersquove entered an era

of fast and furious bike adventures I canrsquot

help but wonder whether

people are forgetting what

for me is the ultimate high

of traveling by bicycle - the

slow transition The bicycle

is simply one of the best

mediums to explore a coun-try in detail As one place

slowly merges with another

bicycle travelers watch the

world evolve Why race through To see

a lot but to experience little By setting a

time limit you beef up the challenge but

acic omthig that to m at at i

far more important - the adventure Thetimes I have felt most alive have been

on those dusty tracks at the very edge of

civilization The times Irsquove relished more

than any other have been when Irsquove tak-

en up offers of hospitality from local peo-

ple offers which I presume would often

be declined by the speed freaks all in the

name of a few more miles before sunset

Phap Irsquom vgig o big o of

those conceited know-it-alls the type of

irritating traveler who seems convinced

P h o t o S T E

V E F A B E S

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3536JANUARY 2012 - WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL 35

Dr Steve Fabes aims to cycle the length ofthe 6 continents while raising money for the

UK health charity Merlin You can followSteve at wwwcyclingthe6blogspotcom

CONTRIBUTORSthey are exploring the world in a superior

way than most but why not take more

time to look around Constantly dwell-

ing on distance and on time and on the

future means you forget to be surprised

by the present Why not resist always

taking the shortest or the easiest path

loop a ptti tha taight i

Shrug off that addiction to asphalt Take

time to banter with passersby and every

once in a while take a detour through a

town or village just because it has a fun-

ny sounding name on the map

And to The Speedsters out there I

have a few suggestions to make life eas-ier First off - a urinary catheter to oblit-

erate the need for all those time wast-

ing toilet stops A straw into your mouth

connected to a huge hat containing car-

bo-rich liquidized mush the kind of stuff

NASA gives to its astronauts And lastly

a tiny video camera on the handlebars

recording everything that occurs outsideyo twty dg via d That way

if something interesting happens to your

left or right therersquos no need to turn your

had catig dag ad acicig v-

locity Just watch it on tape afterwards in

the comfort of your own home whilst you

tell your friends and family how amazing

the experience was although you wishthat puncture on the N2 hadnacutet dented

your November average And next time

we meet - have some empathy please

Wersquore not all like you so letrsquos not talk in

numbers Tell me a good story insteadBT

AALDRIK MULDER

ALICIA URREA

ALVARO NEIL

AMAYA WILLIAMS

ANDREW MORGAN

ANDREW SYKES

BENJAMIN JACOB

DAVE CONROY

DAVID GREGORY

DAVID PIPER

DEAN CLEMENTSON

DENNIS KOOMEN

DIRK VAN HULLE

DUSTIN ORRICK

ED BRABANDER

EMMA PHILPOTT

FABIAN NAWRATH

FEARGHAL ONUALLAIN

FRED SPENGLER

FRIEDEL GRANT

GUY MOODIE

HANNA MI JAKOBSON

HARRY WAGENAAR

HELEN LLOYD

HENRIK RISAGER

HENRY BRYDON

JACK MOORE

JANYIS WATSON

JARED MITCHELL

JOSIE DEW

KATIE TIBBETTS

LEONARDO CORRADINI

LIZ WILTON

LORETTA HENDERSON

LYNETTE EYB

MARC FREEDMAN

MIKE BOLES

MIRJAM WOUTERS

PAUL JEURISSEN

RACHEL HUGENS

ROB HALKETT

ROB LUCAS

RUDI VERHAGEN

SCOTT STOLL

SHANE LITTLE

SIMON STEWART

STEVE FABES

THOMAS RILEY

TOM KEVILL-DAVIES

TYLER KELLEN

WILLEM MEGENS

rciv a SHOW IT book

with your FREE subscription to

Bicycle Traveler magazinewwwbicycletravelernl

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3636

Photo FEARGHAL Orsquo NUALLAIN

TravelerBicycle

Parting shot

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 1736JANUARY 2012 - WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL 17

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 1836WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL - JANUARY 201218

65

4

3

2

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 1936JANUARY 2012 - WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL 19

1 The turquoise lake of Kraa

2 Rudi relaxes at Stafafell campsite

3 Willem crosses the Syri Oacutefael river

4 Church near Uljoacutetsvatn

5 Loose sand on the jeep track to

Hviacutetaacuternes lake 6 Curious locals

Willem and Rudi love bicycletouring since it gives them a sense

of freedom and satisfactionYou can see more of their photos

at httpthemeegnl

Photo cdit 2 4 5 Wim Mg

1 3 6 rdi Vhag

1

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 2036WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL - JANUARY 201220

Southern California is a blend of

the athentic and the aticia

The natural landscape continu-

ously shifts between green hills rugged

cliffs and sandy dunes One reoccur-

ring feature is the golf course I imagine

the golf players live in the ritzy and rich

neighborhoods that I passed on the way

such as Monterey with all its grand vil-

las protected by high walls and Malibursquos

fenced in fancy houses that occupy en-

tire beaches I did not go behind those

glamorous facades but outside of them I

met several genuine generous and gor-geous people

As I bicycled past the high walls and

private beaches the Big Sur coast ap-

peared in all its simple beauty The luxury

life sometimes drove by me in the shape

of fast cars that looked like bat-mobiles

and suV the ength of imoine sti

I cycled on with the help of the wind Itpushed me up the high hills and treated

me with splendid views from the top be-

fore blowing me back down to sea level

The scenery was spectacular with water-

falls plunging into the ocean waves that

invited me in for a salty bath and camp

grounds with the star lit sky as the only

light source

Californiarsquos animals are full of charac-

ter Cute and clever raccoons ran their

nightly raids in search of food around my

tent During the day frisky squirrels jumped

in the ed and azy eephant ea took

naps on the beach The city animals

have had a make-over to match the de-

signer handbags that they sit in Spoiled

pets were pampered in cat-spas in glitzy

lo Angee and ate gazed dog bicit

from the bakeries of wealthy Carmel In

the beach town of Solana pet owners

could even book a consultation for advice

on reducing the climate change impact

of their animalrsquos high carbon lifestyle

All of the pets and people who peek out

from a fashionable handbag gaze over aprotective wall watch through their bat-

mobile car window or look beyond the

aticia andcape of a gof coe can

still enjoy the true beauty of California

the coast For me it was amazing to see

eappeaing view of the Pacic Ocean It

was there next to the Santa Barbara col-

lege house that I stayed in It was thereas I stretched my calves and thighs after

climbing the Big Sur hills It was there as

I hng ot by the kateboad pak at Ven-

ice Beach It was there as I dried in the

sun after a swim near San Diego and it

will continue to be by my side as I start

cycling through the beauty of Mexico

C A L I F O R N I A N

B E A U T Y

You can follow Hanna Mi Jakobsonrsquosfurther trans-American travels atwwwhannamijakobsoncom

Swedish journalist Hanna Mi Jakobson cycled

the Californian coast in search of new views

BT

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 2136JANUARY 2012 - WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL 21

P h o t o s H A

N N A M I J A K O B S O N

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 2236WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL - JANUARY 201222

As I had been staying in northern

Bangkok it meant that I had to

ride through the city center and

out the other side when it was time to go

I hoped that by leaving at 630am I would

miss all the early morning commuter traf-

c How wog cod I b Fom th mo-ment I left the safety of the hotel car park

I wa attackd by tafc ev with a

my bicycle lights blazing the drivers still

couldnrsquot see me at one point I thought it

might be safer if I turned the lights off be-

cause then at least they wouldnrsquot know

what to aim for During that ride through

the city horns blared all around me andcars driven by madmen desperate to get

to work inched passed me

Cycling manners At t I wa a poit a I cod poi-

bly be lsquorsquocome on guys take your time and

give me a bit of room here after all we

are in this togetherrsquorsquo after about half an

hour of this politeness I managed to get

the sentence down to a couple of choice

words and hand gestures that are under-

stood in most countries Finally after three

hours of madness I managed to reach

the city outskirts and I was completely

lost Following my compass south witha map that was not detailed enough to

show the suburban streets I had to hope

that I wod vtay d a mai ot

Finding heavenIt was now 11am the sun was getting

hot I was tired from that morningrsquos com-

muter adventure and felt it would be goodto hav a ay ih I pottd a ig

that said Jimmies Guest House perfect

I would have somewhere to stay and

hopefully Jimmie could help me with a

detailed route out of the suburbs and

south towards the coast I never found

Jimmy and after an hour of following the

signs I gave up outside the gates to what

B983137983150983143983147983151983147Goodbye

Rob Halkett leaves the Thai capital amid the

sounds of car horns birdsong and ldquohey big spenderrdquo

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 2336JANUARY 2012 - WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL 23

looked like an expensive resort I didnrsquot

care if it cost $1000 a night I just want-

ed off the bike It turned out to be much

cheaper than I thought and would be

the perfect place for an overnight Once

again I was given a small private bunga-

low overlooking a lake The rest of that af-

ternoon was absolute bliss as I watched

birds and other wildlife on the lake

from the comfort of my private balcony

Karaoke contestantsI met the resortrsquos other guests at dinner a

group of pensioners from northern Thai-

land who had traveled down to Bang-kok to perform in a karaoke competition

Karaoke is huge here and every bar or

club and restaurant no matter how big or

small has a karaoke machine Everyone

is welcome to pick up the microphone

and sing I was used to listening to peo-

ple who canrsquot sing perform songs that

should never have been written At din-

ner I listened to ldquomy wayrdquo ldquosomewhere

over the rainbowrdquo ldquosend in the clownsrdquo

and other classic songs from the 50s and

60s sung in Thai it was the most bizarre

evening The group who were all great

fun had brought a professional karaoke

instructor with them and he was busy all

night teaching the contestants how to

sing each song They had noticed that

there was a foreigner in the restaurant

listening to them and clapping at the end

of each song and they were determinedto get me on the stage Fortunately we

cod d othig i egih o th ma-

chine although that was partly my fault

as I had told him to key into the machine

songs by System of a down or Metallica

I went to bed that evening to the sound

of ldquoHey Big Spenderrdquo sung in ThaiBT

For Rob Halkett there is no better way to seethe world than from a bicycle saddle You

can read more stories from his world biketrip at wwwrobsbikeridecom

Photo PAul JeurIssen

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 2436

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 2536JANUARY 2012 - WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL 25

INTERVIEW

Q If you could come back and

ride anywhere in France where

would you go

A evywh

Q And where would you avoid

A Th otkit of Mai

Q Yoursquove cycled all over the

world ndash how does France rate

when you compare it to all the

other exotic destinations yoursquove

written about

A It vy co to th top of th it

Q In your early days you man-

aged to convince lots of non-cy-

cling friends to undertake some

pretty long rides with you Doyou have any advice for cyclists

who have reluctant partners or

friends theyrsquore trying to cajole

along for a ride

A Pg foth ito th kow ndash

its much more fun and much more

memorable than doing something safeand tedious

Q France has some great

routes for families ndash the Loire

the vineyard routes of Gironde

the greenways of Brittany

Youve got two mini-cyclists

of your own who are clock-

ing up the miles ndash whatrsquos so

great about introducing kids

to cycling

A Fdom advt ig ad

noticing things that they never would

when strapped into a vehicle enjoy-

ing life without being reliant on some

computerized gadget being outdoors in

all weathers It also makes them sleep

exceptionally well

Australian cyclist Lynette Eyb startedwwwfreewheelingfrancecom to help other

bicyclists plan their trips through France

BT

Josie Dew is the author of several popularcycling adventure books such as ldquoTheWind in My Wheels Travel Tales from the

Saddlerdquo and ldquoA Ride in the Neon Sun AGaijin in Japanrdquo For more information see

wwwjosiedewcom

ldquoFrench people like

cyclists even ones

with panniersrdquo

Q What three items canrsquot you

cycle without

A Tt to-cip ad a mii lathma

Q Any nal words of advice for

people thinking about cycling in

France

A Tat with xtm catio th biq-

ito igpot that poit TOuTes

DIreCTIOns How ca yo go i a

directions at once especially when its

pointing in the opposite direction from

the one you want to go

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 2636WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL - JANUARY 201226

BENJAMIN JACOBwwwglobecyclersde

China

Image Roadthe

from

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 2736JANUARY 2012 - WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL 27

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 2836WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL - JANUARY 201228

FABIAN NAWRATH

wwwafricabybikede

Uganda Image Roadthe

from

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 2936JANUARY 2012 - WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL 29

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3036WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL - JANUARY 201230

PAUL JEURISSENwwwpauljeurissennl

India

Image Roadthe

from

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3136JANUARY 2012 - WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL 31

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3236WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL - JANUARY 201232

Not being able to go pee barefoot

in the middle of the nightrdquo Aicia ua wwwrodadasnet

ldquoMy WardrobeEvery girl should have more

than 3 sets of clothes to choose from

H loyd httphelenstakeoncom

ldquoNadda nil nix zippo zilch zip

lotta Hdo wwwskalatitudecom

Longing for

My kitchen - as a hungry cyclist

I dream about itrdquoTom Kevill-Davies wwwhungrycyclistcom

ldquoThe comfort of my own toilet

Dennis Koomen

wwwtoko-op-etsvakantienl

Facebook as I do not take a

smartphone on my tripsrdquoDirk van Hulle

wwwfacebookcomdirkvanhulle

Monday morning tube ride into

lodorsquo rat racrdquoHenry Brydon wwwtheblazingsaddlescom

rdquo

ldquo

rdquo

rdquo

rdquo

rdquo

Twitt - it i difct to cyc ad twtrdquoSimon Stewart wwwsilk-wheelscom

Sitting on the coach watchingmovies with my familyrdquoDustin Orrick wwwwork2ridecom

Clearly marked prices when shoppingrdquoFred Spengler

wwwcrazyguyonabikecomonrbikes

ldquoShoes that donrsquot go ldquoclick clickrdquo

when you walk

Guy Moodie wwwabikejourneycom

ldquoNot having to put on

frozen shoes in the morningThoma riy

wwwaroundtheworldforwatercouk

Anything that casts a shadow

resting in the shaderdquoDavid Gregory wwwboomersonbikescom

ldquo A loud stereo - to drown out the sound

of big trucks and noisy carsDave Conroy wwwtiredotca

What do cyclists miss on their trips

ldquoChairman Meowthe coolest cat in Canada

Mike Boles httpmikeonbikewordpresscom

ldquoKnowing the name of the place Irsquom

headed to when asked where Irsquom going

emma Phipott wwwrolling-talescom

Photo PAul JeurIssen

rdquo

rdquo

rdquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3336

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3436WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL - JANUARY 201234

SPEEDSTERS By STEVE FABES

COLUMN

Chances are you have met one Phap yo v a o Had ow back amot hoizota max-

imum two panniers and eyes scanning the trailing asphalt ner-

voy taig tig gac at th odomt Itrsquo th spdt

The

During my journey Irsquove

met many cyclists striving

to ride the length of Africa

in just four months many

others are chasing world

records and several orga-

nized tours have sproutedup in recent years making

The Speedster as ubiqui-

tous in this world as drunk

British nineteen year olds on Gap Years

This entity seems to exist only on

busy highways and dreary uninspir-

ing parts of the world never on rough

roads never in those wild placesWhen we do cross paths the conver-

sation follows a predictable pattern

often beginning with ldquoSo how many ki-

lometres have you comerdquo Followed

swiftly by ldquoAnd how long did that takerdquo

Cue furrowed brow mental arithmetic

is in progress as The Speedster tries to

calculate exactly how many more kilome-

tres they cover per month than you do

Itrsquos a shame that wersquove entered an era

of fast and furious bike adventures I canrsquot

help but wonder whether

people are forgetting what

for me is the ultimate high

of traveling by bicycle - the

slow transition The bicycle

is simply one of the best

mediums to explore a coun-try in detail As one place

slowly merges with another

bicycle travelers watch the

world evolve Why race through To see

a lot but to experience little By setting a

time limit you beef up the challenge but

acic omthig that to m at at i

far more important - the adventure Thetimes I have felt most alive have been

on those dusty tracks at the very edge of

civilization The times Irsquove relished more

than any other have been when Irsquove tak-

en up offers of hospitality from local peo-

ple offers which I presume would often

be declined by the speed freaks all in the

name of a few more miles before sunset

Phap Irsquom vgig o big o of

those conceited know-it-alls the type of

irritating traveler who seems convinced

P h o t o S T E

V E F A B E S

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3536JANUARY 2012 - WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL 35

Dr Steve Fabes aims to cycle the length ofthe 6 continents while raising money for the

UK health charity Merlin You can followSteve at wwwcyclingthe6blogspotcom

CONTRIBUTORSthey are exploring the world in a superior

way than most but why not take more

time to look around Constantly dwell-

ing on distance and on time and on the

future means you forget to be surprised

by the present Why not resist always

taking the shortest or the easiest path

loop a ptti tha taight i

Shrug off that addiction to asphalt Take

time to banter with passersby and every

once in a while take a detour through a

town or village just because it has a fun-

ny sounding name on the map

And to The Speedsters out there I

have a few suggestions to make life eas-ier First off - a urinary catheter to oblit-

erate the need for all those time wast-

ing toilet stops A straw into your mouth

connected to a huge hat containing car-

bo-rich liquidized mush the kind of stuff

NASA gives to its astronauts And lastly

a tiny video camera on the handlebars

recording everything that occurs outsideyo twty dg via d That way

if something interesting happens to your

left or right therersquos no need to turn your

had catig dag ad acicig v-

locity Just watch it on tape afterwards in

the comfort of your own home whilst you

tell your friends and family how amazing

the experience was although you wishthat puncture on the N2 hadnacutet dented

your November average And next time

we meet - have some empathy please

Wersquore not all like you so letrsquos not talk in

numbers Tell me a good story insteadBT

AALDRIK MULDER

ALICIA URREA

ALVARO NEIL

AMAYA WILLIAMS

ANDREW MORGAN

ANDREW SYKES

BENJAMIN JACOB

DAVE CONROY

DAVID GREGORY

DAVID PIPER

DEAN CLEMENTSON

DENNIS KOOMEN

DIRK VAN HULLE

DUSTIN ORRICK

ED BRABANDER

EMMA PHILPOTT

FABIAN NAWRATH

FEARGHAL ONUALLAIN

FRED SPENGLER

FRIEDEL GRANT

GUY MOODIE

HANNA MI JAKOBSON

HARRY WAGENAAR

HELEN LLOYD

HENRIK RISAGER

HENRY BRYDON

JACK MOORE

JANYIS WATSON

JARED MITCHELL

JOSIE DEW

KATIE TIBBETTS

LEONARDO CORRADINI

LIZ WILTON

LORETTA HENDERSON

LYNETTE EYB

MARC FREEDMAN

MIKE BOLES

MIRJAM WOUTERS

PAUL JEURISSEN

RACHEL HUGENS

ROB HALKETT

ROB LUCAS

RUDI VERHAGEN

SCOTT STOLL

SHANE LITTLE

SIMON STEWART

STEVE FABES

THOMAS RILEY

TOM KEVILL-DAVIES

TYLER KELLEN

WILLEM MEGENS

rciv a SHOW IT book

with your FREE subscription to

Bicycle Traveler magazinewwwbicycletravelernl

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3636

Photo FEARGHAL Orsquo NUALLAIN

TravelerBicycle

Parting shot

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 1836WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL - JANUARY 201218

65

4

3

2

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 1936JANUARY 2012 - WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL 19

1 The turquoise lake of Kraa

2 Rudi relaxes at Stafafell campsite

3 Willem crosses the Syri Oacutefael river

4 Church near Uljoacutetsvatn

5 Loose sand on the jeep track to

Hviacutetaacuternes lake 6 Curious locals

Willem and Rudi love bicycletouring since it gives them a sense

of freedom and satisfactionYou can see more of their photos

at httpthemeegnl

Photo cdit 2 4 5 Wim Mg

1 3 6 rdi Vhag

1

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 2036WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL - JANUARY 201220

Southern California is a blend of

the athentic and the aticia

The natural landscape continu-

ously shifts between green hills rugged

cliffs and sandy dunes One reoccur-

ring feature is the golf course I imagine

the golf players live in the ritzy and rich

neighborhoods that I passed on the way

such as Monterey with all its grand vil-

las protected by high walls and Malibursquos

fenced in fancy houses that occupy en-

tire beaches I did not go behind those

glamorous facades but outside of them I

met several genuine generous and gor-geous people

As I bicycled past the high walls and

private beaches the Big Sur coast ap-

peared in all its simple beauty The luxury

life sometimes drove by me in the shape

of fast cars that looked like bat-mobiles

and suV the ength of imoine sti

I cycled on with the help of the wind Itpushed me up the high hills and treated

me with splendid views from the top be-

fore blowing me back down to sea level

The scenery was spectacular with water-

falls plunging into the ocean waves that

invited me in for a salty bath and camp

grounds with the star lit sky as the only

light source

Californiarsquos animals are full of charac-

ter Cute and clever raccoons ran their

nightly raids in search of food around my

tent During the day frisky squirrels jumped

in the ed and azy eephant ea took

naps on the beach The city animals

have had a make-over to match the de-

signer handbags that they sit in Spoiled

pets were pampered in cat-spas in glitzy

lo Angee and ate gazed dog bicit

from the bakeries of wealthy Carmel In

the beach town of Solana pet owners

could even book a consultation for advice

on reducing the climate change impact

of their animalrsquos high carbon lifestyle

All of the pets and people who peek out

from a fashionable handbag gaze over aprotective wall watch through their bat-

mobile car window or look beyond the

aticia andcape of a gof coe can

still enjoy the true beauty of California

the coast For me it was amazing to see

eappeaing view of the Pacic Ocean It

was there next to the Santa Barbara col-

lege house that I stayed in It was thereas I stretched my calves and thighs after

climbing the Big Sur hills It was there as

I hng ot by the kateboad pak at Ven-

ice Beach It was there as I dried in the

sun after a swim near San Diego and it

will continue to be by my side as I start

cycling through the beauty of Mexico

C A L I F O R N I A N

B E A U T Y

You can follow Hanna Mi Jakobsonrsquosfurther trans-American travels atwwwhannamijakobsoncom

Swedish journalist Hanna Mi Jakobson cycled

the Californian coast in search of new views

BT

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 2136JANUARY 2012 - WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL 21

P h o t o s H A

N N A M I J A K O B S O N

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 2236WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL - JANUARY 201222

As I had been staying in northern

Bangkok it meant that I had to

ride through the city center and

out the other side when it was time to go

I hoped that by leaving at 630am I would

miss all the early morning commuter traf-

c How wog cod I b Fom th mo-ment I left the safety of the hotel car park

I wa attackd by tafc ev with a

my bicycle lights blazing the drivers still

couldnrsquot see me at one point I thought it

might be safer if I turned the lights off be-

cause then at least they wouldnrsquot know

what to aim for During that ride through

the city horns blared all around me andcars driven by madmen desperate to get

to work inched passed me

Cycling manners At t I wa a poit a I cod poi-

bly be lsquorsquocome on guys take your time and

give me a bit of room here after all we

are in this togetherrsquorsquo after about half an

hour of this politeness I managed to get

the sentence down to a couple of choice

words and hand gestures that are under-

stood in most countries Finally after three

hours of madness I managed to reach

the city outskirts and I was completely

lost Following my compass south witha map that was not detailed enough to

show the suburban streets I had to hope

that I wod vtay d a mai ot

Finding heavenIt was now 11am the sun was getting

hot I was tired from that morningrsquos com-

muter adventure and felt it would be goodto hav a ay ih I pottd a ig

that said Jimmies Guest House perfect

I would have somewhere to stay and

hopefully Jimmie could help me with a

detailed route out of the suburbs and

south towards the coast I never found

Jimmy and after an hour of following the

signs I gave up outside the gates to what

B983137983150983143983147983151983147Goodbye

Rob Halkett leaves the Thai capital amid the

sounds of car horns birdsong and ldquohey big spenderrdquo

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 2336JANUARY 2012 - WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL 23

looked like an expensive resort I didnrsquot

care if it cost $1000 a night I just want-

ed off the bike It turned out to be much

cheaper than I thought and would be

the perfect place for an overnight Once

again I was given a small private bunga-

low overlooking a lake The rest of that af-

ternoon was absolute bliss as I watched

birds and other wildlife on the lake

from the comfort of my private balcony

Karaoke contestantsI met the resortrsquos other guests at dinner a

group of pensioners from northern Thai-

land who had traveled down to Bang-kok to perform in a karaoke competition

Karaoke is huge here and every bar or

club and restaurant no matter how big or

small has a karaoke machine Everyone

is welcome to pick up the microphone

and sing I was used to listening to peo-

ple who canrsquot sing perform songs that

should never have been written At din-

ner I listened to ldquomy wayrdquo ldquosomewhere

over the rainbowrdquo ldquosend in the clownsrdquo

and other classic songs from the 50s and

60s sung in Thai it was the most bizarre

evening The group who were all great

fun had brought a professional karaoke

instructor with them and he was busy all

night teaching the contestants how to

sing each song They had noticed that

there was a foreigner in the restaurant

listening to them and clapping at the end

of each song and they were determinedto get me on the stage Fortunately we

cod d othig i egih o th ma-

chine although that was partly my fault

as I had told him to key into the machine

songs by System of a down or Metallica

I went to bed that evening to the sound

of ldquoHey Big Spenderrdquo sung in ThaiBT

For Rob Halkett there is no better way to seethe world than from a bicycle saddle You

can read more stories from his world biketrip at wwwrobsbikeridecom

Photo PAul JeurIssen

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 2436

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 2536JANUARY 2012 - WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL 25

INTERVIEW

Q If you could come back and

ride anywhere in France where

would you go

A evywh

Q And where would you avoid

A Th otkit of Mai

Q Yoursquove cycled all over the

world ndash how does France rate

when you compare it to all the

other exotic destinations yoursquove

written about

A It vy co to th top of th it

Q In your early days you man-

aged to convince lots of non-cy-

cling friends to undertake some

pretty long rides with you Doyou have any advice for cyclists

who have reluctant partners or

friends theyrsquore trying to cajole

along for a ride

A Pg foth ito th kow ndash

its much more fun and much more

memorable than doing something safeand tedious

Q France has some great

routes for families ndash the Loire

the vineyard routes of Gironde

the greenways of Brittany

Youve got two mini-cyclists

of your own who are clock-

ing up the miles ndash whatrsquos so

great about introducing kids

to cycling

A Fdom advt ig ad

noticing things that they never would

when strapped into a vehicle enjoy-

ing life without being reliant on some

computerized gadget being outdoors in

all weathers It also makes them sleep

exceptionally well

Australian cyclist Lynette Eyb startedwwwfreewheelingfrancecom to help other

bicyclists plan their trips through France

BT

Josie Dew is the author of several popularcycling adventure books such as ldquoTheWind in My Wheels Travel Tales from the

Saddlerdquo and ldquoA Ride in the Neon Sun AGaijin in Japanrdquo For more information see

wwwjosiedewcom

ldquoFrench people like

cyclists even ones

with panniersrdquo

Q What three items canrsquot you

cycle without

A Tt to-cip ad a mii lathma

Q Any nal words of advice for

people thinking about cycling in

France

A Tat with xtm catio th biq-

ito igpot that poit TOuTes

DIreCTIOns How ca yo go i a

directions at once especially when its

pointing in the opposite direction from

the one you want to go

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 2636WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL - JANUARY 201226

BENJAMIN JACOBwwwglobecyclersde

China

Image Roadthe

from

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 2736JANUARY 2012 - WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL 27

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 2836WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL - JANUARY 201228

FABIAN NAWRATH

wwwafricabybikede

Uganda Image Roadthe

from

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 2936JANUARY 2012 - WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL 29

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3036WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL - JANUARY 201230

PAUL JEURISSENwwwpauljeurissennl

India

Image Roadthe

from

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3136JANUARY 2012 - WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL 31

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3236WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL - JANUARY 201232

Not being able to go pee barefoot

in the middle of the nightrdquo Aicia ua wwwrodadasnet

ldquoMy WardrobeEvery girl should have more

than 3 sets of clothes to choose from

H loyd httphelenstakeoncom

ldquoNadda nil nix zippo zilch zip

lotta Hdo wwwskalatitudecom

Longing for

My kitchen - as a hungry cyclist

I dream about itrdquoTom Kevill-Davies wwwhungrycyclistcom

ldquoThe comfort of my own toilet

Dennis Koomen

wwwtoko-op-etsvakantienl

Facebook as I do not take a

smartphone on my tripsrdquoDirk van Hulle

wwwfacebookcomdirkvanhulle

Monday morning tube ride into

lodorsquo rat racrdquoHenry Brydon wwwtheblazingsaddlescom

rdquo

ldquo

rdquo

rdquo

rdquo

rdquo

Twitt - it i difct to cyc ad twtrdquoSimon Stewart wwwsilk-wheelscom

Sitting on the coach watchingmovies with my familyrdquoDustin Orrick wwwwork2ridecom

Clearly marked prices when shoppingrdquoFred Spengler

wwwcrazyguyonabikecomonrbikes

ldquoShoes that donrsquot go ldquoclick clickrdquo

when you walk

Guy Moodie wwwabikejourneycom

ldquoNot having to put on

frozen shoes in the morningThoma riy

wwwaroundtheworldforwatercouk

Anything that casts a shadow

resting in the shaderdquoDavid Gregory wwwboomersonbikescom

ldquo A loud stereo - to drown out the sound

of big trucks and noisy carsDave Conroy wwwtiredotca

What do cyclists miss on their trips

ldquoChairman Meowthe coolest cat in Canada

Mike Boles httpmikeonbikewordpresscom

ldquoKnowing the name of the place Irsquom

headed to when asked where Irsquom going

emma Phipott wwwrolling-talescom

Photo PAul JeurIssen

rdquo

rdquo

rdquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3336

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3436WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL - JANUARY 201234

SPEEDSTERS By STEVE FABES

COLUMN

Chances are you have met one Phap yo v a o Had ow back amot hoizota max-

imum two panniers and eyes scanning the trailing asphalt ner-

voy taig tig gac at th odomt Itrsquo th spdt

The

During my journey Irsquove

met many cyclists striving

to ride the length of Africa

in just four months many

others are chasing world

records and several orga-

nized tours have sproutedup in recent years making

The Speedster as ubiqui-

tous in this world as drunk

British nineteen year olds on Gap Years

This entity seems to exist only on

busy highways and dreary uninspir-

ing parts of the world never on rough

roads never in those wild placesWhen we do cross paths the conver-

sation follows a predictable pattern

often beginning with ldquoSo how many ki-

lometres have you comerdquo Followed

swiftly by ldquoAnd how long did that takerdquo

Cue furrowed brow mental arithmetic

is in progress as The Speedster tries to

calculate exactly how many more kilome-

tres they cover per month than you do

Itrsquos a shame that wersquove entered an era

of fast and furious bike adventures I canrsquot

help but wonder whether

people are forgetting what

for me is the ultimate high

of traveling by bicycle - the

slow transition The bicycle

is simply one of the best

mediums to explore a coun-try in detail As one place

slowly merges with another

bicycle travelers watch the

world evolve Why race through To see

a lot but to experience little By setting a

time limit you beef up the challenge but

acic omthig that to m at at i

far more important - the adventure Thetimes I have felt most alive have been

on those dusty tracks at the very edge of

civilization The times Irsquove relished more

than any other have been when Irsquove tak-

en up offers of hospitality from local peo-

ple offers which I presume would often

be declined by the speed freaks all in the

name of a few more miles before sunset

Phap Irsquom vgig o big o of

those conceited know-it-alls the type of

irritating traveler who seems convinced

P h o t o S T E

V E F A B E S

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3536JANUARY 2012 - WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL 35

Dr Steve Fabes aims to cycle the length ofthe 6 continents while raising money for the

UK health charity Merlin You can followSteve at wwwcyclingthe6blogspotcom

CONTRIBUTORSthey are exploring the world in a superior

way than most but why not take more

time to look around Constantly dwell-

ing on distance and on time and on the

future means you forget to be surprised

by the present Why not resist always

taking the shortest or the easiest path

loop a ptti tha taight i

Shrug off that addiction to asphalt Take

time to banter with passersby and every

once in a while take a detour through a

town or village just because it has a fun-

ny sounding name on the map

And to The Speedsters out there I

have a few suggestions to make life eas-ier First off - a urinary catheter to oblit-

erate the need for all those time wast-

ing toilet stops A straw into your mouth

connected to a huge hat containing car-

bo-rich liquidized mush the kind of stuff

NASA gives to its astronauts And lastly

a tiny video camera on the handlebars

recording everything that occurs outsideyo twty dg via d That way

if something interesting happens to your

left or right therersquos no need to turn your

had catig dag ad acicig v-

locity Just watch it on tape afterwards in

the comfort of your own home whilst you

tell your friends and family how amazing

the experience was although you wishthat puncture on the N2 hadnacutet dented

your November average And next time

we meet - have some empathy please

Wersquore not all like you so letrsquos not talk in

numbers Tell me a good story insteadBT

AALDRIK MULDER

ALICIA URREA

ALVARO NEIL

AMAYA WILLIAMS

ANDREW MORGAN

ANDREW SYKES

BENJAMIN JACOB

DAVE CONROY

DAVID GREGORY

DAVID PIPER

DEAN CLEMENTSON

DENNIS KOOMEN

DIRK VAN HULLE

DUSTIN ORRICK

ED BRABANDER

EMMA PHILPOTT

FABIAN NAWRATH

FEARGHAL ONUALLAIN

FRED SPENGLER

FRIEDEL GRANT

GUY MOODIE

HANNA MI JAKOBSON

HARRY WAGENAAR

HELEN LLOYD

HENRIK RISAGER

HENRY BRYDON

JACK MOORE

JANYIS WATSON

JARED MITCHELL

JOSIE DEW

KATIE TIBBETTS

LEONARDO CORRADINI

LIZ WILTON

LORETTA HENDERSON

LYNETTE EYB

MARC FREEDMAN

MIKE BOLES

MIRJAM WOUTERS

PAUL JEURISSEN

RACHEL HUGENS

ROB HALKETT

ROB LUCAS

RUDI VERHAGEN

SCOTT STOLL

SHANE LITTLE

SIMON STEWART

STEVE FABES

THOMAS RILEY

TOM KEVILL-DAVIES

TYLER KELLEN

WILLEM MEGENS

rciv a SHOW IT book

with your FREE subscription to

Bicycle Traveler magazinewwwbicycletravelernl

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3636

Photo FEARGHAL Orsquo NUALLAIN

TravelerBicycle

Parting shot

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 1936JANUARY 2012 - WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL 19

1 The turquoise lake of Kraa

2 Rudi relaxes at Stafafell campsite

3 Willem crosses the Syri Oacutefael river

4 Church near Uljoacutetsvatn

5 Loose sand on the jeep track to

Hviacutetaacuternes lake 6 Curious locals

Willem and Rudi love bicycletouring since it gives them a sense

of freedom and satisfactionYou can see more of their photos

at httpthemeegnl

Photo cdit 2 4 5 Wim Mg

1 3 6 rdi Vhag

1

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 2036WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL - JANUARY 201220

Southern California is a blend of

the athentic and the aticia

The natural landscape continu-

ously shifts between green hills rugged

cliffs and sandy dunes One reoccur-

ring feature is the golf course I imagine

the golf players live in the ritzy and rich

neighborhoods that I passed on the way

such as Monterey with all its grand vil-

las protected by high walls and Malibursquos

fenced in fancy houses that occupy en-

tire beaches I did not go behind those

glamorous facades but outside of them I

met several genuine generous and gor-geous people

As I bicycled past the high walls and

private beaches the Big Sur coast ap-

peared in all its simple beauty The luxury

life sometimes drove by me in the shape

of fast cars that looked like bat-mobiles

and suV the ength of imoine sti

I cycled on with the help of the wind Itpushed me up the high hills and treated

me with splendid views from the top be-

fore blowing me back down to sea level

The scenery was spectacular with water-

falls plunging into the ocean waves that

invited me in for a salty bath and camp

grounds with the star lit sky as the only

light source

Californiarsquos animals are full of charac-

ter Cute and clever raccoons ran their

nightly raids in search of food around my

tent During the day frisky squirrels jumped

in the ed and azy eephant ea took

naps on the beach The city animals

have had a make-over to match the de-

signer handbags that they sit in Spoiled

pets were pampered in cat-spas in glitzy

lo Angee and ate gazed dog bicit

from the bakeries of wealthy Carmel In

the beach town of Solana pet owners

could even book a consultation for advice

on reducing the climate change impact

of their animalrsquos high carbon lifestyle

All of the pets and people who peek out

from a fashionable handbag gaze over aprotective wall watch through their bat-

mobile car window or look beyond the

aticia andcape of a gof coe can

still enjoy the true beauty of California

the coast For me it was amazing to see

eappeaing view of the Pacic Ocean It

was there next to the Santa Barbara col-

lege house that I stayed in It was thereas I stretched my calves and thighs after

climbing the Big Sur hills It was there as

I hng ot by the kateboad pak at Ven-

ice Beach It was there as I dried in the

sun after a swim near San Diego and it

will continue to be by my side as I start

cycling through the beauty of Mexico

C A L I F O R N I A N

B E A U T Y

You can follow Hanna Mi Jakobsonrsquosfurther trans-American travels atwwwhannamijakobsoncom

Swedish journalist Hanna Mi Jakobson cycled

the Californian coast in search of new views

BT

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 2136JANUARY 2012 - WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL 21

P h o t o s H A

N N A M I J A K O B S O N

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 2236WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL - JANUARY 201222

As I had been staying in northern

Bangkok it meant that I had to

ride through the city center and

out the other side when it was time to go

I hoped that by leaving at 630am I would

miss all the early morning commuter traf-

c How wog cod I b Fom th mo-ment I left the safety of the hotel car park

I wa attackd by tafc ev with a

my bicycle lights blazing the drivers still

couldnrsquot see me at one point I thought it

might be safer if I turned the lights off be-

cause then at least they wouldnrsquot know

what to aim for During that ride through

the city horns blared all around me andcars driven by madmen desperate to get

to work inched passed me

Cycling manners At t I wa a poit a I cod poi-

bly be lsquorsquocome on guys take your time and

give me a bit of room here after all we

are in this togetherrsquorsquo after about half an

hour of this politeness I managed to get

the sentence down to a couple of choice

words and hand gestures that are under-

stood in most countries Finally after three

hours of madness I managed to reach

the city outskirts and I was completely

lost Following my compass south witha map that was not detailed enough to

show the suburban streets I had to hope

that I wod vtay d a mai ot

Finding heavenIt was now 11am the sun was getting

hot I was tired from that morningrsquos com-

muter adventure and felt it would be goodto hav a ay ih I pottd a ig

that said Jimmies Guest House perfect

I would have somewhere to stay and

hopefully Jimmie could help me with a

detailed route out of the suburbs and

south towards the coast I never found

Jimmy and after an hour of following the

signs I gave up outside the gates to what

B983137983150983143983147983151983147Goodbye

Rob Halkett leaves the Thai capital amid the

sounds of car horns birdsong and ldquohey big spenderrdquo

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 2336JANUARY 2012 - WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL 23

looked like an expensive resort I didnrsquot

care if it cost $1000 a night I just want-

ed off the bike It turned out to be much

cheaper than I thought and would be

the perfect place for an overnight Once

again I was given a small private bunga-

low overlooking a lake The rest of that af-

ternoon was absolute bliss as I watched

birds and other wildlife on the lake

from the comfort of my private balcony

Karaoke contestantsI met the resortrsquos other guests at dinner a

group of pensioners from northern Thai-

land who had traveled down to Bang-kok to perform in a karaoke competition

Karaoke is huge here and every bar or

club and restaurant no matter how big or

small has a karaoke machine Everyone

is welcome to pick up the microphone

and sing I was used to listening to peo-

ple who canrsquot sing perform songs that

should never have been written At din-

ner I listened to ldquomy wayrdquo ldquosomewhere

over the rainbowrdquo ldquosend in the clownsrdquo

and other classic songs from the 50s and

60s sung in Thai it was the most bizarre

evening The group who were all great

fun had brought a professional karaoke

instructor with them and he was busy all

night teaching the contestants how to

sing each song They had noticed that

there was a foreigner in the restaurant

listening to them and clapping at the end

of each song and they were determinedto get me on the stage Fortunately we

cod d othig i egih o th ma-

chine although that was partly my fault

as I had told him to key into the machine

songs by System of a down or Metallica

I went to bed that evening to the sound

of ldquoHey Big Spenderrdquo sung in ThaiBT

For Rob Halkett there is no better way to seethe world than from a bicycle saddle You

can read more stories from his world biketrip at wwwrobsbikeridecom

Photo PAul JeurIssen

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 2436

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 2536JANUARY 2012 - WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL 25

INTERVIEW

Q If you could come back and

ride anywhere in France where

would you go

A evywh

Q And where would you avoid

A Th otkit of Mai

Q Yoursquove cycled all over the

world ndash how does France rate

when you compare it to all the

other exotic destinations yoursquove

written about

A It vy co to th top of th it

Q In your early days you man-

aged to convince lots of non-cy-

cling friends to undertake some

pretty long rides with you Doyou have any advice for cyclists

who have reluctant partners or

friends theyrsquore trying to cajole

along for a ride

A Pg foth ito th kow ndash

its much more fun and much more

memorable than doing something safeand tedious

Q France has some great

routes for families ndash the Loire

the vineyard routes of Gironde

the greenways of Brittany

Youve got two mini-cyclists

of your own who are clock-

ing up the miles ndash whatrsquos so

great about introducing kids

to cycling

A Fdom advt ig ad

noticing things that they never would

when strapped into a vehicle enjoy-

ing life without being reliant on some

computerized gadget being outdoors in

all weathers It also makes them sleep

exceptionally well

Australian cyclist Lynette Eyb startedwwwfreewheelingfrancecom to help other

bicyclists plan their trips through France

BT

Josie Dew is the author of several popularcycling adventure books such as ldquoTheWind in My Wheels Travel Tales from the

Saddlerdquo and ldquoA Ride in the Neon Sun AGaijin in Japanrdquo For more information see

wwwjosiedewcom

ldquoFrench people like

cyclists even ones

with panniersrdquo

Q What three items canrsquot you

cycle without

A Tt to-cip ad a mii lathma

Q Any nal words of advice for

people thinking about cycling in

France

A Tat with xtm catio th biq-

ito igpot that poit TOuTes

DIreCTIOns How ca yo go i a

directions at once especially when its

pointing in the opposite direction from

the one you want to go

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 2636WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL - JANUARY 201226

BENJAMIN JACOBwwwglobecyclersde

China

Image Roadthe

from

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 2736JANUARY 2012 - WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL 27

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 2836WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL - JANUARY 201228

FABIAN NAWRATH

wwwafricabybikede

Uganda Image Roadthe

from

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 2936JANUARY 2012 - WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL 29

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3036WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL - JANUARY 201230

PAUL JEURISSENwwwpauljeurissennl

India

Image Roadthe

from

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3136JANUARY 2012 - WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL 31

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3236WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL - JANUARY 201232

Not being able to go pee barefoot

in the middle of the nightrdquo Aicia ua wwwrodadasnet

ldquoMy WardrobeEvery girl should have more

than 3 sets of clothes to choose from

H loyd httphelenstakeoncom

ldquoNadda nil nix zippo zilch zip

lotta Hdo wwwskalatitudecom

Longing for

My kitchen - as a hungry cyclist

I dream about itrdquoTom Kevill-Davies wwwhungrycyclistcom

ldquoThe comfort of my own toilet

Dennis Koomen

wwwtoko-op-etsvakantienl

Facebook as I do not take a

smartphone on my tripsrdquoDirk van Hulle

wwwfacebookcomdirkvanhulle

Monday morning tube ride into

lodorsquo rat racrdquoHenry Brydon wwwtheblazingsaddlescom

rdquo

ldquo

rdquo

rdquo

rdquo

rdquo

Twitt - it i difct to cyc ad twtrdquoSimon Stewart wwwsilk-wheelscom

Sitting on the coach watchingmovies with my familyrdquoDustin Orrick wwwwork2ridecom

Clearly marked prices when shoppingrdquoFred Spengler

wwwcrazyguyonabikecomonrbikes

ldquoShoes that donrsquot go ldquoclick clickrdquo

when you walk

Guy Moodie wwwabikejourneycom

ldquoNot having to put on

frozen shoes in the morningThoma riy

wwwaroundtheworldforwatercouk

Anything that casts a shadow

resting in the shaderdquoDavid Gregory wwwboomersonbikescom

ldquo A loud stereo - to drown out the sound

of big trucks and noisy carsDave Conroy wwwtiredotca

What do cyclists miss on their trips

ldquoChairman Meowthe coolest cat in Canada

Mike Boles httpmikeonbikewordpresscom

ldquoKnowing the name of the place Irsquom

headed to when asked where Irsquom going

emma Phipott wwwrolling-talescom

Photo PAul JeurIssen

rdquo

rdquo

rdquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3336

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3436WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL - JANUARY 201234

SPEEDSTERS By STEVE FABES

COLUMN

Chances are you have met one Phap yo v a o Had ow back amot hoizota max-

imum two panniers and eyes scanning the trailing asphalt ner-

voy taig tig gac at th odomt Itrsquo th spdt

The

During my journey Irsquove

met many cyclists striving

to ride the length of Africa

in just four months many

others are chasing world

records and several orga-

nized tours have sproutedup in recent years making

The Speedster as ubiqui-

tous in this world as drunk

British nineteen year olds on Gap Years

This entity seems to exist only on

busy highways and dreary uninspir-

ing parts of the world never on rough

roads never in those wild placesWhen we do cross paths the conver-

sation follows a predictable pattern

often beginning with ldquoSo how many ki-

lometres have you comerdquo Followed

swiftly by ldquoAnd how long did that takerdquo

Cue furrowed brow mental arithmetic

is in progress as The Speedster tries to

calculate exactly how many more kilome-

tres they cover per month than you do

Itrsquos a shame that wersquove entered an era

of fast and furious bike adventures I canrsquot

help but wonder whether

people are forgetting what

for me is the ultimate high

of traveling by bicycle - the

slow transition The bicycle

is simply one of the best

mediums to explore a coun-try in detail As one place

slowly merges with another

bicycle travelers watch the

world evolve Why race through To see

a lot but to experience little By setting a

time limit you beef up the challenge but

acic omthig that to m at at i

far more important - the adventure Thetimes I have felt most alive have been

on those dusty tracks at the very edge of

civilization The times Irsquove relished more

than any other have been when Irsquove tak-

en up offers of hospitality from local peo-

ple offers which I presume would often

be declined by the speed freaks all in the

name of a few more miles before sunset

Phap Irsquom vgig o big o of

those conceited know-it-alls the type of

irritating traveler who seems convinced

P h o t o S T E

V E F A B E S

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3536JANUARY 2012 - WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL 35

Dr Steve Fabes aims to cycle the length ofthe 6 continents while raising money for the

UK health charity Merlin You can followSteve at wwwcyclingthe6blogspotcom

CONTRIBUTORSthey are exploring the world in a superior

way than most but why not take more

time to look around Constantly dwell-

ing on distance and on time and on the

future means you forget to be surprised

by the present Why not resist always

taking the shortest or the easiest path

loop a ptti tha taight i

Shrug off that addiction to asphalt Take

time to banter with passersby and every

once in a while take a detour through a

town or village just because it has a fun-

ny sounding name on the map

And to The Speedsters out there I

have a few suggestions to make life eas-ier First off - a urinary catheter to oblit-

erate the need for all those time wast-

ing toilet stops A straw into your mouth

connected to a huge hat containing car-

bo-rich liquidized mush the kind of stuff

NASA gives to its astronauts And lastly

a tiny video camera on the handlebars

recording everything that occurs outsideyo twty dg via d That way

if something interesting happens to your

left or right therersquos no need to turn your

had catig dag ad acicig v-

locity Just watch it on tape afterwards in

the comfort of your own home whilst you

tell your friends and family how amazing

the experience was although you wishthat puncture on the N2 hadnacutet dented

your November average And next time

we meet - have some empathy please

Wersquore not all like you so letrsquos not talk in

numbers Tell me a good story insteadBT

AALDRIK MULDER

ALICIA URREA

ALVARO NEIL

AMAYA WILLIAMS

ANDREW MORGAN

ANDREW SYKES

BENJAMIN JACOB

DAVE CONROY

DAVID GREGORY

DAVID PIPER

DEAN CLEMENTSON

DENNIS KOOMEN

DIRK VAN HULLE

DUSTIN ORRICK

ED BRABANDER

EMMA PHILPOTT

FABIAN NAWRATH

FEARGHAL ONUALLAIN

FRED SPENGLER

FRIEDEL GRANT

GUY MOODIE

HANNA MI JAKOBSON

HARRY WAGENAAR

HELEN LLOYD

HENRIK RISAGER

HENRY BRYDON

JACK MOORE

JANYIS WATSON

JARED MITCHELL

JOSIE DEW

KATIE TIBBETTS

LEONARDO CORRADINI

LIZ WILTON

LORETTA HENDERSON

LYNETTE EYB

MARC FREEDMAN

MIKE BOLES

MIRJAM WOUTERS

PAUL JEURISSEN

RACHEL HUGENS

ROB HALKETT

ROB LUCAS

RUDI VERHAGEN

SCOTT STOLL

SHANE LITTLE

SIMON STEWART

STEVE FABES

THOMAS RILEY

TOM KEVILL-DAVIES

TYLER KELLEN

WILLEM MEGENS

rciv a SHOW IT book

with your FREE subscription to

Bicycle Traveler magazinewwwbicycletravelernl

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3636

Photo FEARGHAL Orsquo NUALLAIN

TravelerBicycle

Parting shot

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 2036WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL - JANUARY 201220

Southern California is a blend of

the athentic and the aticia

The natural landscape continu-

ously shifts between green hills rugged

cliffs and sandy dunes One reoccur-

ring feature is the golf course I imagine

the golf players live in the ritzy and rich

neighborhoods that I passed on the way

such as Monterey with all its grand vil-

las protected by high walls and Malibursquos

fenced in fancy houses that occupy en-

tire beaches I did not go behind those

glamorous facades but outside of them I

met several genuine generous and gor-geous people

As I bicycled past the high walls and

private beaches the Big Sur coast ap-

peared in all its simple beauty The luxury

life sometimes drove by me in the shape

of fast cars that looked like bat-mobiles

and suV the ength of imoine sti

I cycled on with the help of the wind Itpushed me up the high hills and treated

me with splendid views from the top be-

fore blowing me back down to sea level

The scenery was spectacular with water-

falls plunging into the ocean waves that

invited me in for a salty bath and camp

grounds with the star lit sky as the only

light source

Californiarsquos animals are full of charac-

ter Cute and clever raccoons ran their

nightly raids in search of food around my

tent During the day frisky squirrels jumped

in the ed and azy eephant ea took

naps on the beach The city animals

have had a make-over to match the de-

signer handbags that they sit in Spoiled

pets were pampered in cat-spas in glitzy

lo Angee and ate gazed dog bicit

from the bakeries of wealthy Carmel In

the beach town of Solana pet owners

could even book a consultation for advice

on reducing the climate change impact

of their animalrsquos high carbon lifestyle

All of the pets and people who peek out

from a fashionable handbag gaze over aprotective wall watch through their bat-

mobile car window or look beyond the

aticia andcape of a gof coe can

still enjoy the true beauty of California

the coast For me it was amazing to see

eappeaing view of the Pacic Ocean It

was there next to the Santa Barbara col-

lege house that I stayed in It was thereas I stretched my calves and thighs after

climbing the Big Sur hills It was there as

I hng ot by the kateboad pak at Ven-

ice Beach It was there as I dried in the

sun after a swim near San Diego and it

will continue to be by my side as I start

cycling through the beauty of Mexico

C A L I F O R N I A N

B E A U T Y

You can follow Hanna Mi Jakobsonrsquosfurther trans-American travels atwwwhannamijakobsoncom

Swedish journalist Hanna Mi Jakobson cycled

the Californian coast in search of new views

BT

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 2136JANUARY 2012 - WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL 21

P h o t o s H A

N N A M I J A K O B S O N

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 2236WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL - JANUARY 201222

As I had been staying in northern

Bangkok it meant that I had to

ride through the city center and

out the other side when it was time to go

I hoped that by leaving at 630am I would

miss all the early morning commuter traf-

c How wog cod I b Fom th mo-ment I left the safety of the hotel car park

I wa attackd by tafc ev with a

my bicycle lights blazing the drivers still

couldnrsquot see me at one point I thought it

might be safer if I turned the lights off be-

cause then at least they wouldnrsquot know

what to aim for During that ride through

the city horns blared all around me andcars driven by madmen desperate to get

to work inched passed me

Cycling manners At t I wa a poit a I cod poi-

bly be lsquorsquocome on guys take your time and

give me a bit of room here after all we

are in this togetherrsquorsquo after about half an

hour of this politeness I managed to get

the sentence down to a couple of choice

words and hand gestures that are under-

stood in most countries Finally after three

hours of madness I managed to reach

the city outskirts and I was completely

lost Following my compass south witha map that was not detailed enough to

show the suburban streets I had to hope

that I wod vtay d a mai ot

Finding heavenIt was now 11am the sun was getting

hot I was tired from that morningrsquos com-

muter adventure and felt it would be goodto hav a ay ih I pottd a ig

that said Jimmies Guest House perfect

I would have somewhere to stay and

hopefully Jimmie could help me with a

detailed route out of the suburbs and

south towards the coast I never found

Jimmy and after an hour of following the

signs I gave up outside the gates to what

B983137983150983143983147983151983147Goodbye

Rob Halkett leaves the Thai capital amid the

sounds of car horns birdsong and ldquohey big spenderrdquo

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 2336JANUARY 2012 - WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL 23

looked like an expensive resort I didnrsquot

care if it cost $1000 a night I just want-

ed off the bike It turned out to be much

cheaper than I thought and would be

the perfect place for an overnight Once

again I was given a small private bunga-

low overlooking a lake The rest of that af-

ternoon was absolute bliss as I watched

birds and other wildlife on the lake

from the comfort of my private balcony

Karaoke contestantsI met the resortrsquos other guests at dinner a

group of pensioners from northern Thai-

land who had traveled down to Bang-kok to perform in a karaoke competition

Karaoke is huge here and every bar or

club and restaurant no matter how big or

small has a karaoke machine Everyone

is welcome to pick up the microphone

and sing I was used to listening to peo-

ple who canrsquot sing perform songs that

should never have been written At din-

ner I listened to ldquomy wayrdquo ldquosomewhere

over the rainbowrdquo ldquosend in the clownsrdquo

and other classic songs from the 50s and

60s sung in Thai it was the most bizarre

evening The group who were all great

fun had brought a professional karaoke

instructor with them and he was busy all

night teaching the contestants how to

sing each song They had noticed that

there was a foreigner in the restaurant

listening to them and clapping at the end

of each song and they were determinedto get me on the stage Fortunately we

cod d othig i egih o th ma-

chine although that was partly my fault

as I had told him to key into the machine

songs by System of a down or Metallica

I went to bed that evening to the sound

of ldquoHey Big Spenderrdquo sung in ThaiBT

For Rob Halkett there is no better way to seethe world than from a bicycle saddle You

can read more stories from his world biketrip at wwwrobsbikeridecom

Photo PAul JeurIssen

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 2436

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 2536JANUARY 2012 - WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL 25

INTERVIEW

Q If you could come back and

ride anywhere in France where

would you go

A evywh

Q And where would you avoid

A Th otkit of Mai

Q Yoursquove cycled all over the

world ndash how does France rate

when you compare it to all the

other exotic destinations yoursquove

written about

A It vy co to th top of th it

Q In your early days you man-

aged to convince lots of non-cy-

cling friends to undertake some

pretty long rides with you Doyou have any advice for cyclists

who have reluctant partners or

friends theyrsquore trying to cajole

along for a ride

A Pg foth ito th kow ndash

its much more fun and much more

memorable than doing something safeand tedious

Q France has some great

routes for families ndash the Loire

the vineyard routes of Gironde

the greenways of Brittany

Youve got two mini-cyclists

of your own who are clock-

ing up the miles ndash whatrsquos so

great about introducing kids

to cycling

A Fdom advt ig ad

noticing things that they never would

when strapped into a vehicle enjoy-

ing life without being reliant on some

computerized gadget being outdoors in

all weathers It also makes them sleep

exceptionally well

Australian cyclist Lynette Eyb startedwwwfreewheelingfrancecom to help other

bicyclists plan their trips through France

BT

Josie Dew is the author of several popularcycling adventure books such as ldquoTheWind in My Wheels Travel Tales from the

Saddlerdquo and ldquoA Ride in the Neon Sun AGaijin in Japanrdquo For more information see

wwwjosiedewcom

ldquoFrench people like

cyclists even ones

with panniersrdquo

Q What three items canrsquot you

cycle without

A Tt to-cip ad a mii lathma

Q Any nal words of advice for

people thinking about cycling in

France

A Tat with xtm catio th biq-

ito igpot that poit TOuTes

DIreCTIOns How ca yo go i a

directions at once especially when its

pointing in the opposite direction from

the one you want to go

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 2636WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL - JANUARY 201226

BENJAMIN JACOBwwwglobecyclersde

China

Image Roadthe

from

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 2736JANUARY 2012 - WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL 27

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 2836WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL - JANUARY 201228

FABIAN NAWRATH

wwwafricabybikede

Uganda Image Roadthe

from

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 2936JANUARY 2012 - WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL 29

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3036WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL - JANUARY 201230

PAUL JEURISSENwwwpauljeurissennl

India

Image Roadthe

from

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3136JANUARY 2012 - WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL 31

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3236WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL - JANUARY 201232

Not being able to go pee barefoot

in the middle of the nightrdquo Aicia ua wwwrodadasnet

ldquoMy WardrobeEvery girl should have more

than 3 sets of clothes to choose from

H loyd httphelenstakeoncom

ldquoNadda nil nix zippo zilch zip

lotta Hdo wwwskalatitudecom

Longing for

My kitchen - as a hungry cyclist

I dream about itrdquoTom Kevill-Davies wwwhungrycyclistcom

ldquoThe comfort of my own toilet

Dennis Koomen

wwwtoko-op-etsvakantienl

Facebook as I do not take a

smartphone on my tripsrdquoDirk van Hulle

wwwfacebookcomdirkvanhulle

Monday morning tube ride into

lodorsquo rat racrdquoHenry Brydon wwwtheblazingsaddlescom

rdquo

ldquo

rdquo

rdquo

rdquo

rdquo

Twitt - it i difct to cyc ad twtrdquoSimon Stewart wwwsilk-wheelscom

Sitting on the coach watchingmovies with my familyrdquoDustin Orrick wwwwork2ridecom

Clearly marked prices when shoppingrdquoFred Spengler

wwwcrazyguyonabikecomonrbikes

ldquoShoes that donrsquot go ldquoclick clickrdquo

when you walk

Guy Moodie wwwabikejourneycom

ldquoNot having to put on

frozen shoes in the morningThoma riy

wwwaroundtheworldforwatercouk

Anything that casts a shadow

resting in the shaderdquoDavid Gregory wwwboomersonbikescom

ldquo A loud stereo - to drown out the sound

of big trucks and noisy carsDave Conroy wwwtiredotca

What do cyclists miss on their trips

ldquoChairman Meowthe coolest cat in Canada

Mike Boles httpmikeonbikewordpresscom

ldquoKnowing the name of the place Irsquom

headed to when asked where Irsquom going

emma Phipott wwwrolling-talescom

Photo PAul JeurIssen

rdquo

rdquo

rdquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3336

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3436WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL - JANUARY 201234

SPEEDSTERS By STEVE FABES

COLUMN

Chances are you have met one Phap yo v a o Had ow back amot hoizota max-

imum two panniers and eyes scanning the trailing asphalt ner-

voy taig tig gac at th odomt Itrsquo th spdt

The

During my journey Irsquove

met many cyclists striving

to ride the length of Africa

in just four months many

others are chasing world

records and several orga-

nized tours have sproutedup in recent years making

The Speedster as ubiqui-

tous in this world as drunk

British nineteen year olds on Gap Years

This entity seems to exist only on

busy highways and dreary uninspir-

ing parts of the world never on rough

roads never in those wild placesWhen we do cross paths the conver-

sation follows a predictable pattern

often beginning with ldquoSo how many ki-

lometres have you comerdquo Followed

swiftly by ldquoAnd how long did that takerdquo

Cue furrowed brow mental arithmetic

is in progress as The Speedster tries to

calculate exactly how many more kilome-

tres they cover per month than you do

Itrsquos a shame that wersquove entered an era

of fast and furious bike adventures I canrsquot

help but wonder whether

people are forgetting what

for me is the ultimate high

of traveling by bicycle - the

slow transition The bicycle

is simply one of the best

mediums to explore a coun-try in detail As one place

slowly merges with another

bicycle travelers watch the

world evolve Why race through To see

a lot but to experience little By setting a

time limit you beef up the challenge but

acic omthig that to m at at i

far more important - the adventure Thetimes I have felt most alive have been

on those dusty tracks at the very edge of

civilization The times Irsquove relished more

than any other have been when Irsquove tak-

en up offers of hospitality from local peo-

ple offers which I presume would often

be declined by the speed freaks all in the

name of a few more miles before sunset

Phap Irsquom vgig o big o of

those conceited know-it-alls the type of

irritating traveler who seems convinced

P h o t o S T E

V E F A B E S

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3536JANUARY 2012 - WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL 35

Dr Steve Fabes aims to cycle the length ofthe 6 continents while raising money for the

UK health charity Merlin You can followSteve at wwwcyclingthe6blogspotcom

CONTRIBUTORSthey are exploring the world in a superior

way than most but why not take more

time to look around Constantly dwell-

ing on distance and on time and on the

future means you forget to be surprised

by the present Why not resist always

taking the shortest or the easiest path

loop a ptti tha taight i

Shrug off that addiction to asphalt Take

time to banter with passersby and every

once in a while take a detour through a

town or village just because it has a fun-

ny sounding name on the map

And to The Speedsters out there I

have a few suggestions to make life eas-ier First off - a urinary catheter to oblit-

erate the need for all those time wast-

ing toilet stops A straw into your mouth

connected to a huge hat containing car-

bo-rich liquidized mush the kind of stuff

NASA gives to its astronauts And lastly

a tiny video camera on the handlebars

recording everything that occurs outsideyo twty dg via d That way

if something interesting happens to your

left or right therersquos no need to turn your

had catig dag ad acicig v-

locity Just watch it on tape afterwards in

the comfort of your own home whilst you

tell your friends and family how amazing

the experience was although you wishthat puncture on the N2 hadnacutet dented

your November average And next time

we meet - have some empathy please

Wersquore not all like you so letrsquos not talk in

numbers Tell me a good story insteadBT

AALDRIK MULDER

ALICIA URREA

ALVARO NEIL

AMAYA WILLIAMS

ANDREW MORGAN

ANDREW SYKES

BENJAMIN JACOB

DAVE CONROY

DAVID GREGORY

DAVID PIPER

DEAN CLEMENTSON

DENNIS KOOMEN

DIRK VAN HULLE

DUSTIN ORRICK

ED BRABANDER

EMMA PHILPOTT

FABIAN NAWRATH

FEARGHAL ONUALLAIN

FRED SPENGLER

FRIEDEL GRANT

GUY MOODIE

HANNA MI JAKOBSON

HARRY WAGENAAR

HELEN LLOYD

HENRIK RISAGER

HENRY BRYDON

JACK MOORE

JANYIS WATSON

JARED MITCHELL

JOSIE DEW

KATIE TIBBETTS

LEONARDO CORRADINI

LIZ WILTON

LORETTA HENDERSON

LYNETTE EYB

MARC FREEDMAN

MIKE BOLES

MIRJAM WOUTERS

PAUL JEURISSEN

RACHEL HUGENS

ROB HALKETT

ROB LUCAS

RUDI VERHAGEN

SCOTT STOLL

SHANE LITTLE

SIMON STEWART

STEVE FABES

THOMAS RILEY

TOM KEVILL-DAVIES

TYLER KELLEN

WILLEM MEGENS

rciv a SHOW IT book

with your FREE subscription to

Bicycle Traveler magazinewwwbicycletravelernl

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3636

Photo FEARGHAL Orsquo NUALLAIN

TravelerBicycle

Parting shot

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 2136JANUARY 2012 - WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL 21

P h o t o s H A

N N A M I J A K O B S O N

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 2236WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL - JANUARY 201222

As I had been staying in northern

Bangkok it meant that I had to

ride through the city center and

out the other side when it was time to go

I hoped that by leaving at 630am I would

miss all the early morning commuter traf-

c How wog cod I b Fom th mo-ment I left the safety of the hotel car park

I wa attackd by tafc ev with a

my bicycle lights blazing the drivers still

couldnrsquot see me at one point I thought it

might be safer if I turned the lights off be-

cause then at least they wouldnrsquot know

what to aim for During that ride through

the city horns blared all around me andcars driven by madmen desperate to get

to work inched passed me

Cycling manners At t I wa a poit a I cod poi-

bly be lsquorsquocome on guys take your time and

give me a bit of room here after all we

are in this togetherrsquorsquo after about half an

hour of this politeness I managed to get

the sentence down to a couple of choice

words and hand gestures that are under-

stood in most countries Finally after three

hours of madness I managed to reach

the city outskirts and I was completely

lost Following my compass south witha map that was not detailed enough to

show the suburban streets I had to hope

that I wod vtay d a mai ot

Finding heavenIt was now 11am the sun was getting

hot I was tired from that morningrsquos com-

muter adventure and felt it would be goodto hav a ay ih I pottd a ig

that said Jimmies Guest House perfect

I would have somewhere to stay and

hopefully Jimmie could help me with a

detailed route out of the suburbs and

south towards the coast I never found

Jimmy and after an hour of following the

signs I gave up outside the gates to what

B983137983150983143983147983151983147Goodbye

Rob Halkett leaves the Thai capital amid the

sounds of car horns birdsong and ldquohey big spenderrdquo

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 2336JANUARY 2012 - WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL 23

looked like an expensive resort I didnrsquot

care if it cost $1000 a night I just want-

ed off the bike It turned out to be much

cheaper than I thought and would be

the perfect place for an overnight Once

again I was given a small private bunga-

low overlooking a lake The rest of that af-

ternoon was absolute bliss as I watched

birds and other wildlife on the lake

from the comfort of my private balcony

Karaoke contestantsI met the resortrsquos other guests at dinner a

group of pensioners from northern Thai-

land who had traveled down to Bang-kok to perform in a karaoke competition

Karaoke is huge here and every bar or

club and restaurant no matter how big or

small has a karaoke machine Everyone

is welcome to pick up the microphone

and sing I was used to listening to peo-

ple who canrsquot sing perform songs that

should never have been written At din-

ner I listened to ldquomy wayrdquo ldquosomewhere

over the rainbowrdquo ldquosend in the clownsrdquo

and other classic songs from the 50s and

60s sung in Thai it was the most bizarre

evening The group who were all great

fun had brought a professional karaoke

instructor with them and he was busy all

night teaching the contestants how to

sing each song They had noticed that

there was a foreigner in the restaurant

listening to them and clapping at the end

of each song and they were determinedto get me on the stage Fortunately we

cod d othig i egih o th ma-

chine although that was partly my fault

as I had told him to key into the machine

songs by System of a down or Metallica

I went to bed that evening to the sound

of ldquoHey Big Spenderrdquo sung in ThaiBT

For Rob Halkett there is no better way to seethe world than from a bicycle saddle You

can read more stories from his world biketrip at wwwrobsbikeridecom

Photo PAul JeurIssen

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 2436

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 2536JANUARY 2012 - WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL 25

INTERVIEW

Q If you could come back and

ride anywhere in France where

would you go

A evywh

Q And where would you avoid

A Th otkit of Mai

Q Yoursquove cycled all over the

world ndash how does France rate

when you compare it to all the

other exotic destinations yoursquove

written about

A It vy co to th top of th it

Q In your early days you man-

aged to convince lots of non-cy-

cling friends to undertake some

pretty long rides with you Doyou have any advice for cyclists

who have reluctant partners or

friends theyrsquore trying to cajole

along for a ride

A Pg foth ito th kow ndash

its much more fun and much more

memorable than doing something safeand tedious

Q France has some great

routes for families ndash the Loire

the vineyard routes of Gironde

the greenways of Brittany

Youve got two mini-cyclists

of your own who are clock-

ing up the miles ndash whatrsquos so

great about introducing kids

to cycling

A Fdom advt ig ad

noticing things that they never would

when strapped into a vehicle enjoy-

ing life without being reliant on some

computerized gadget being outdoors in

all weathers It also makes them sleep

exceptionally well

Australian cyclist Lynette Eyb startedwwwfreewheelingfrancecom to help other

bicyclists plan their trips through France

BT

Josie Dew is the author of several popularcycling adventure books such as ldquoTheWind in My Wheels Travel Tales from the

Saddlerdquo and ldquoA Ride in the Neon Sun AGaijin in Japanrdquo For more information see

wwwjosiedewcom

ldquoFrench people like

cyclists even ones

with panniersrdquo

Q What three items canrsquot you

cycle without

A Tt to-cip ad a mii lathma

Q Any nal words of advice for

people thinking about cycling in

France

A Tat with xtm catio th biq-

ito igpot that poit TOuTes

DIreCTIOns How ca yo go i a

directions at once especially when its

pointing in the opposite direction from

the one you want to go

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 2636WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL - JANUARY 201226

BENJAMIN JACOBwwwglobecyclersde

China

Image Roadthe

from

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 2736JANUARY 2012 - WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL 27

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 2836WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL - JANUARY 201228

FABIAN NAWRATH

wwwafricabybikede

Uganda Image Roadthe

from

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 2936JANUARY 2012 - WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL 29

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3036WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL - JANUARY 201230

PAUL JEURISSENwwwpauljeurissennl

India

Image Roadthe

from

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3136JANUARY 2012 - WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL 31

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3236WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL - JANUARY 201232

Not being able to go pee barefoot

in the middle of the nightrdquo Aicia ua wwwrodadasnet

ldquoMy WardrobeEvery girl should have more

than 3 sets of clothes to choose from

H loyd httphelenstakeoncom

ldquoNadda nil nix zippo zilch zip

lotta Hdo wwwskalatitudecom

Longing for

My kitchen - as a hungry cyclist

I dream about itrdquoTom Kevill-Davies wwwhungrycyclistcom

ldquoThe comfort of my own toilet

Dennis Koomen

wwwtoko-op-etsvakantienl

Facebook as I do not take a

smartphone on my tripsrdquoDirk van Hulle

wwwfacebookcomdirkvanhulle

Monday morning tube ride into

lodorsquo rat racrdquoHenry Brydon wwwtheblazingsaddlescom

rdquo

ldquo

rdquo

rdquo

rdquo

rdquo

Twitt - it i difct to cyc ad twtrdquoSimon Stewart wwwsilk-wheelscom

Sitting on the coach watchingmovies with my familyrdquoDustin Orrick wwwwork2ridecom

Clearly marked prices when shoppingrdquoFred Spengler

wwwcrazyguyonabikecomonrbikes

ldquoShoes that donrsquot go ldquoclick clickrdquo

when you walk

Guy Moodie wwwabikejourneycom

ldquoNot having to put on

frozen shoes in the morningThoma riy

wwwaroundtheworldforwatercouk

Anything that casts a shadow

resting in the shaderdquoDavid Gregory wwwboomersonbikescom

ldquo A loud stereo - to drown out the sound

of big trucks and noisy carsDave Conroy wwwtiredotca

What do cyclists miss on their trips

ldquoChairman Meowthe coolest cat in Canada

Mike Boles httpmikeonbikewordpresscom

ldquoKnowing the name of the place Irsquom

headed to when asked where Irsquom going

emma Phipott wwwrolling-talescom

Photo PAul JeurIssen

rdquo

rdquo

rdquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3336

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3436WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL - JANUARY 201234

SPEEDSTERS By STEVE FABES

COLUMN

Chances are you have met one Phap yo v a o Had ow back amot hoizota max-

imum two panniers and eyes scanning the trailing asphalt ner-

voy taig tig gac at th odomt Itrsquo th spdt

The

During my journey Irsquove

met many cyclists striving

to ride the length of Africa

in just four months many

others are chasing world

records and several orga-

nized tours have sproutedup in recent years making

The Speedster as ubiqui-

tous in this world as drunk

British nineteen year olds on Gap Years

This entity seems to exist only on

busy highways and dreary uninspir-

ing parts of the world never on rough

roads never in those wild placesWhen we do cross paths the conver-

sation follows a predictable pattern

often beginning with ldquoSo how many ki-

lometres have you comerdquo Followed

swiftly by ldquoAnd how long did that takerdquo

Cue furrowed brow mental arithmetic

is in progress as The Speedster tries to

calculate exactly how many more kilome-

tres they cover per month than you do

Itrsquos a shame that wersquove entered an era

of fast and furious bike adventures I canrsquot

help but wonder whether

people are forgetting what

for me is the ultimate high

of traveling by bicycle - the

slow transition The bicycle

is simply one of the best

mediums to explore a coun-try in detail As one place

slowly merges with another

bicycle travelers watch the

world evolve Why race through To see

a lot but to experience little By setting a

time limit you beef up the challenge but

acic omthig that to m at at i

far more important - the adventure Thetimes I have felt most alive have been

on those dusty tracks at the very edge of

civilization The times Irsquove relished more

than any other have been when Irsquove tak-

en up offers of hospitality from local peo-

ple offers which I presume would often

be declined by the speed freaks all in the

name of a few more miles before sunset

Phap Irsquom vgig o big o of

those conceited know-it-alls the type of

irritating traveler who seems convinced

P h o t o S T E

V E F A B E S

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3536JANUARY 2012 - WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL 35

Dr Steve Fabes aims to cycle the length ofthe 6 continents while raising money for the

UK health charity Merlin You can followSteve at wwwcyclingthe6blogspotcom

CONTRIBUTORSthey are exploring the world in a superior

way than most but why not take more

time to look around Constantly dwell-

ing on distance and on time and on the

future means you forget to be surprised

by the present Why not resist always

taking the shortest or the easiest path

loop a ptti tha taight i

Shrug off that addiction to asphalt Take

time to banter with passersby and every

once in a while take a detour through a

town or village just because it has a fun-

ny sounding name on the map

And to The Speedsters out there I

have a few suggestions to make life eas-ier First off - a urinary catheter to oblit-

erate the need for all those time wast-

ing toilet stops A straw into your mouth

connected to a huge hat containing car-

bo-rich liquidized mush the kind of stuff

NASA gives to its astronauts And lastly

a tiny video camera on the handlebars

recording everything that occurs outsideyo twty dg via d That way

if something interesting happens to your

left or right therersquos no need to turn your

had catig dag ad acicig v-

locity Just watch it on tape afterwards in

the comfort of your own home whilst you

tell your friends and family how amazing

the experience was although you wishthat puncture on the N2 hadnacutet dented

your November average And next time

we meet - have some empathy please

Wersquore not all like you so letrsquos not talk in

numbers Tell me a good story insteadBT

AALDRIK MULDER

ALICIA URREA

ALVARO NEIL

AMAYA WILLIAMS

ANDREW MORGAN

ANDREW SYKES

BENJAMIN JACOB

DAVE CONROY

DAVID GREGORY

DAVID PIPER

DEAN CLEMENTSON

DENNIS KOOMEN

DIRK VAN HULLE

DUSTIN ORRICK

ED BRABANDER

EMMA PHILPOTT

FABIAN NAWRATH

FEARGHAL ONUALLAIN

FRED SPENGLER

FRIEDEL GRANT

GUY MOODIE

HANNA MI JAKOBSON

HARRY WAGENAAR

HELEN LLOYD

HENRIK RISAGER

HENRY BRYDON

JACK MOORE

JANYIS WATSON

JARED MITCHELL

JOSIE DEW

KATIE TIBBETTS

LEONARDO CORRADINI

LIZ WILTON

LORETTA HENDERSON

LYNETTE EYB

MARC FREEDMAN

MIKE BOLES

MIRJAM WOUTERS

PAUL JEURISSEN

RACHEL HUGENS

ROB HALKETT

ROB LUCAS

RUDI VERHAGEN

SCOTT STOLL

SHANE LITTLE

SIMON STEWART

STEVE FABES

THOMAS RILEY

TOM KEVILL-DAVIES

TYLER KELLEN

WILLEM MEGENS

rciv a SHOW IT book

with your FREE subscription to

Bicycle Traveler magazinewwwbicycletravelernl

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3636

Photo FEARGHAL Orsquo NUALLAIN

TravelerBicycle

Parting shot

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 2236WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL - JANUARY 201222

As I had been staying in northern

Bangkok it meant that I had to

ride through the city center and

out the other side when it was time to go

I hoped that by leaving at 630am I would

miss all the early morning commuter traf-

c How wog cod I b Fom th mo-ment I left the safety of the hotel car park

I wa attackd by tafc ev with a

my bicycle lights blazing the drivers still

couldnrsquot see me at one point I thought it

might be safer if I turned the lights off be-

cause then at least they wouldnrsquot know

what to aim for During that ride through

the city horns blared all around me andcars driven by madmen desperate to get

to work inched passed me

Cycling manners At t I wa a poit a I cod poi-

bly be lsquorsquocome on guys take your time and

give me a bit of room here after all we

are in this togetherrsquorsquo after about half an

hour of this politeness I managed to get

the sentence down to a couple of choice

words and hand gestures that are under-

stood in most countries Finally after three

hours of madness I managed to reach

the city outskirts and I was completely

lost Following my compass south witha map that was not detailed enough to

show the suburban streets I had to hope

that I wod vtay d a mai ot

Finding heavenIt was now 11am the sun was getting

hot I was tired from that morningrsquos com-

muter adventure and felt it would be goodto hav a ay ih I pottd a ig

that said Jimmies Guest House perfect

I would have somewhere to stay and

hopefully Jimmie could help me with a

detailed route out of the suburbs and

south towards the coast I never found

Jimmy and after an hour of following the

signs I gave up outside the gates to what

B983137983150983143983147983151983147Goodbye

Rob Halkett leaves the Thai capital amid the

sounds of car horns birdsong and ldquohey big spenderrdquo

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 2336JANUARY 2012 - WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL 23

looked like an expensive resort I didnrsquot

care if it cost $1000 a night I just want-

ed off the bike It turned out to be much

cheaper than I thought and would be

the perfect place for an overnight Once

again I was given a small private bunga-

low overlooking a lake The rest of that af-

ternoon was absolute bliss as I watched

birds and other wildlife on the lake

from the comfort of my private balcony

Karaoke contestantsI met the resortrsquos other guests at dinner a

group of pensioners from northern Thai-

land who had traveled down to Bang-kok to perform in a karaoke competition

Karaoke is huge here and every bar or

club and restaurant no matter how big or

small has a karaoke machine Everyone

is welcome to pick up the microphone

and sing I was used to listening to peo-

ple who canrsquot sing perform songs that

should never have been written At din-

ner I listened to ldquomy wayrdquo ldquosomewhere

over the rainbowrdquo ldquosend in the clownsrdquo

and other classic songs from the 50s and

60s sung in Thai it was the most bizarre

evening The group who were all great

fun had brought a professional karaoke

instructor with them and he was busy all

night teaching the contestants how to

sing each song They had noticed that

there was a foreigner in the restaurant

listening to them and clapping at the end

of each song and they were determinedto get me on the stage Fortunately we

cod d othig i egih o th ma-

chine although that was partly my fault

as I had told him to key into the machine

songs by System of a down or Metallica

I went to bed that evening to the sound

of ldquoHey Big Spenderrdquo sung in ThaiBT

For Rob Halkett there is no better way to seethe world than from a bicycle saddle You

can read more stories from his world biketrip at wwwrobsbikeridecom

Photo PAul JeurIssen

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 2436

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 2536JANUARY 2012 - WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL 25

INTERVIEW

Q If you could come back and

ride anywhere in France where

would you go

A evywh

Q And where would you avoid

A Th otkit of Mai

Q Yoursquove cycled all over the

world ndash how does France rate

when you compare it to all the

other exotic destinations yoursquove

written about

A It vy co to th top of th it

Q In your early days you man-

aged to convince lots of non-cy-

cling friends to undertake some

pretty long rides with you Doyou have any advice for cyclists

who have reluctant partners or

friends theyrsquore trying to cajole

along for a ride

A Pg foth ito th kow ndash

its much more fun and much more

memorable than doing something safeand tedious

Q France has some great

routes for families ndash the Loire

the vineyard routes of Gironde

the greenways of Brittany

Youve got two mini-cyclists

of your own who are clock-

ing up the miles ndash whatrsquos so

great about introducing kids

to cycling

A Fdom advt ig ad

noticing things that they never would

when strapped into a vehicle enjoy-

ing life without being reliant on some

computerized gadget being outdoors in

all weathers It also makes them sleep

exceptionally well

Australian cyclist Lynette Eyb startedwwwfreewheelingfrancecom to help other

bicyclists plan their trips through France

BT

Josie Dew is the author of several popularcycling adventure books such as ldquoTheWind in My Wheels Travel Tales from the

Saddlerdquo and ldquoA Ride in the Neon Sun AGaijin in Japanrdquo For more information see

wwwjosiedewcom

ldquoFrench people like

cyclists even ones

with panniersrdquo

Q What three items canrsquot you

cycle without

A Tt to-cip ad a mii lathma

Q Any nal words of advice for

people thinking about cycling in

France

A Tat with xtm catio th biq-

ito igpot that poit TOuTes

DIreCTIOns How ca yo go i a

directions at once especially when its

pointing in the opposite direction from

the one you want to go

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 2636WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL - JANUARY 201226

BENJAMIN JACOBwwwglobecyclersde

China

Image Roadthe

from

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 2736JANUARY 2012 - WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL 27

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 2836WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL - JANUARY 201228

FABIAN NAWRATH

wwwafricabybikede

Uganda Image Roadthe

from

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 2936JANUARY 2012 - WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL 29

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3036WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL - JANUARY 201230

PAUL JEURISSENwwwpauljeurissennl

India

Image Roadthe

from

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3136JANUARY 2012 - WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL 31

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3236WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL - JANUARY 201232

Not being able to go pee barefoot

in the middle of the nightrdquo Aicia ua wwwrodadasnet

ldquoMy WardrobeEvery girl should have more

than 3 sets of clothes to choose from

H loyd httphelenstakeoncom

ldquoNadda nil nix zippo zilch zip

lotta Hdo wwwskalatitudecom

Longing for

My kitchen - as a hungry cyclist

I dream about itrdquoTom Kevill-Davies wwwhungrycyclistcom

ldquoThe comfort of my own toilet

Dennis Koomen

wwwtoko-op-etsvakantienl

Facebook as I do not take a

smartphone on my tripsrdquoDirk van Hulle

wwwfacebookcomdirkvanhulle

Monday morning tube ride into

lodorsquo rat racrdquoHenry Brydon wwwtheblazingsaddlescom

rdquo

ldquo

rdquo

rdquo

rdquo

rdquo

Twitt - it i difct to cyc ad twtrdquoSimon Stewart wwwsilk-wheelscom

Sitting on the coach watchingmovies with my familyrdquoDustin Orrick wwwwork2ridecom

Clearly marked prices when shoppingrdquoFred Spengler

wwwcrazyguyonabikecomonrbikes

ldquoShoes that donrsquot go ldquoclick clickrdquo

when you walk

Guy Moodie wwwabikejourneycom

ldquoNot having to put on

frozen shoes in the morningThoma riy

wwwaroundtheworldforwatercouk

Anything that casts a shadow

resting in the shaderdquoDavid Gregory wwwboomersonbikescom

ldquo A loud stereo - to drown out the sound

of big trucks and noisy carsDave Conroy wwwtiredotca

What do cyclists miss on their trips

ldquoChairman Meowthe coolest cat in Canada

Mike Boles httpmikeonbikewordpresscom

ldquoKnowing the name of the place Irsquom

headed to when asked where Irsquom going

emma Phipott wwwrolling-talescom

Photo PAul JeurIssen

rdquo

rdquo

rdquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3336

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3436WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL - JANUARY 201234

SPEEDSTERS By STEVE FABES

COLUMN

Chances are you have met one Phap yo v a o Had ow back amot hoizota max-

imum two panniers and eyes scanning the trailing asphalt ner-

voy taig tig gac at th odomt Itrsquo th spdt

The

During my journey Irsquove

met many cyclists striving

to ride the length of Africa

in just four months many

others are chasing world

records and several orga-

nized tours have sproutedup in recent years making

The Speedster as ubiqui-

tous in this world as drunk

British nineteen year olds on Gap Years

This entity seems to exist only on

busy highways and dreary uninspir-

ing parts of the world never on rough

roads never in those wild placesWhen we do cross paths the conver-

sation follows a predictable pattern

often beginning with ldquoSo how many ki-

lometres have you comerdquo Followed

swiftly by ldquoAnd how long did that takerdquo

Cue furrowed brow mental arithmetic

is in progress as The Speedster tries to

calculate exactly how many more kilome-

tres they cover per month than you do

Itrsquos a shame that wersquove entered an era

of fast and furious bike adventures I canrsquot

help but wonder whether

people are forgetting what

for me is the ultimate high

of traveling by bicycle - the

slow transition The bicycle

is simply one of the best

mediums to explore a coun-try in detail As one place

slowly merges with another

bicycle travelers watch the

world evolve Why race through To see

a lot but to experience little By setting a

time limit you beef up the challenge but

acic omthig that to m at at i

far more important - the adventure Thetimes I have felt most alive have been

on those dusty tracks at the very edge of

civilization The times Irsquove relished more

than any other have been when Irsquove tak-

en up offers of hospitality from local peo-

ple offers which I presume would often

be declined by the speed freaks all in the

name of a few more miles before sunset

Phap Irsquom vgig o big o of

those conceited know-it-alls the type of

irritating traveler who seems convinced

P h o t o S T E

V E F A B E S

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3536JANUARY 2012 - WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL 35

Dr Steve Fabes aims to cycle the length ofthe 6 continents while raising money for the

UK health charity Merlin You can followSteve at wwwcyclingthe6blogspotcom

CONTRIBUTORSthey are exploring the world in a superior

way than most but why not take more

time to look around Constantly dwell-

ing on distance and on time and on the

future means you forget to be surprised

by the present Why not resist always

taking the shortest or the easiest path

loop a ptti tha taight i

Shrug off that addiction to asphalt Take

time to banter with passersby and every

once in a while take a detour through a

town or village just because it has a fun-

ny sounding name on the map

And to The Speedsters out there I

have a few suggestions to make life eas-ier First off - a urinary catheter to oblit-

erate the need for all those time wast-

ing toilet stops A straw into your mouth

connected to a huge hat containing car-

bo-rich liquidized mush the kind of stuff

NASA gives to its astronauts And lastly

a tiny video camera on the handlebars

recording everything that occurs outsideyo twty dg via d That way

if something interesting happens to your

left or right therersquos no need to turn your

had catig dag ad acicig v-

locity Just watch it on tape afterwards in

the comfort of your own home whilst you

tell your friends and family how amazing

the experience was although you wishthat puncture on the N2 hadnacutet dented

your November average And next time

we meet - have some empathy please

Wersquore not all like you so letrsquos not talk in

numbers Tell me a good story insteadBT

AALDRIK MULDER

ALICIA URREA

ALVARO NEIL

AMAYA WILLIAMS

ANDREW MORGAN

ANDREW SYKES

BENJAMIN JACOB

DAVE CONROY

DAVID GREGORY

DAVID PIPER

DEAN CLEMENTSON

DENNIS KOOMEN

DIRK VAN HULLE

DUSTIN ORRICK

ED BRABANDER

EMMA PHILPOTT

FABIAN NAWRATH

FEARGHAL ONUALLAIN

FRED SPENGLER

FRIEDEL GRANT

GUY MOODIE

HANNA MI JAKOBSON

HARRY WAGENAAR

HELEN LLOYD

HENRIK RISAGER

HENRY BRYDON

JACK MOORE

JANYIS WATSON

JARED MITCHELL

JOSIE DEW

KATIE TIBBETTS

LEONARDO CORRADINI

LIZ WILTON

LORETTA HENDERSON

LYNETTE EYB

MARC FREEDMAN

MIKE BOLES

MIRJAM WOUTERS

PAUL JEURISSEN

RACHEL HUGENS

ROB HALKETT

ROB LUCAS

RUDI VERHAGEN

SCOTT STOLL

SHANE LITTLE

SIMON STEWART

STEVE FABES

THOMAS RILEY

TOM KEVILL-DAVIES

TYLER KELLEN

WILLEM MEGENS

rciv a SHOW IT book

with your FREE subscription to

Bicycle Traveler magazinewwwbicycletravelernl

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3636

Photo FEARGHAL Orsquo NUALLAIN

TravelerBicycle

Parting shot

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 2336JANUARY 2012 - WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL 23

looked like an expensive resort I didnrsquot

care if it cost $1000 a night I just want-

ed off the bike It turned out to be much

cheaper than I thought and would be

the perfect place for an overnight Once

again I was given a small private bunga-

low overlooking a lake The rest of that af-

ternoon was absolute bliss as I watched

birds and other wildlife on the lake

from the comfort of my private balcony

Karaoke contestantsI met the resortrsquos other guests at dinner a

group of pensioners from northern Thai-

land who had traveled down to Bang-kok to perform in a karaoke competition

Karaoke is huge here and every bar or

club and restaurant no matter how big or

small has a karaoke machine Everyone

is welcome to pick up the microphone

and sing I was used to listening to peo-

ple who canrsquot sing perform songs that

should never have been written At din-

ner I listened to ldquomy wayrdquo ldquosomewhere

over the rainbowrdquo ldquosend in the clownsrdquo

and other classic songs from the 50s and

60s sung in Thai it was the most bizarre

evening The group who were all great

fun had brought a professional karaoke

instructor with them and he was busy all

night teaching the contestants how to

sing each song They had noticed that

there was a foreigner in the restaurant

listening to them and clapping at the end

of each song and they were determinedto get me on the stage Fortunately we

cod d othig i egih o th ma-

chine although that was partly my fault

as I had told him to key into the machine

songs by System of a down or Metallica

I went to bed that evening to the sound

of ldquoHey Big Spenderrdquo sung in ThaiBT

For Rob Halkett there is no better way to seethe world than from a bicycle saddle You

can read more stories from his world biketrip at wwwrobsbikeridecom

Photo PAul JeurIssen

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 2436

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 2536JANUARY 2012 - WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL 25

INTERVIEW

Q If you could come back and

ride anywhere in France where

would you go

A evywh

Q And where would you avoid

A Th otkit of Mai

Q Yoursquove cycled all over the

world ndash how does France rate

when you compare it to all the

other exotic destinations yoursquove

written about

A It vy co to th top of th it

Q In your early days you man-

aged to convince lots of non-cy-

cling friends to undertake some

pretty long rides with you Doyou have any advice for cyclists

who have reluctant partners or

friends theyrsquore trying to cajole

along for a ride

A Pg foth ito th kow ndash

its much more fun and much more

memorable than doing something safeand tedious

Q France has some great

routes for families ndash the Loire

the vineyard routes of Gironde

the greenways of Brittany

Youve got two mini-cyclists

of your own who are clock-

ing up the miles ndash whatrsquos so

great about introducing kids

to cycling

A Fdom advt ig ad

noticing things that they never would

when strapped into a vehicle enjoy-

ing life without being reliant on some

computerized gadget being outdoors in

all weathers It also makes them sleep

exceptionally well

Australian cyclist Lynette Eyb startedwwwfreewheelingfrancecom to help other

bicyclists plan their trips through France

BT

Josie Dew is the author of several popularcycling adventure books such as ldquoTheWind in My Wheels Travel Tales from the

Saddlerdquo and ldquoA Ride in the Neon Sun AGaijin in Japanrdquo For more information see

wwwjosiedewcom

ldquoFrench people like

cyclists even ones

with panniersrdquo

Q What three items canrsquot you

cycle without

A Tt to-cip ad a mii lathma

Q Any nal words of advice for

people thinking about cycling in

France

A Tat with xtm catio th biq-

ito igpot that poit TOuTes

DIreCTIOns How ca yo go i a

directions at once especially when its

pointing in the opposite direction from

the one you want to go

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 2636WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL - JANUARY 201226

BENJAMIN JACOBwwwglobecyclersde

China

Image Roadthe

from

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 2736JANUARY 2012 - WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL 27

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 2836WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL - JANUARY 201228

FABIAN NAWRATH

wwwafricabybikede

Uganda Image Roadthe

from

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 2936JANUARY 2012 - WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL 29

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3036WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL - JANUARY 201230

PAUL JEURISSENwwwpauljeurissennl

India

Image Roadthe

from

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3136JANUARY 2012 - WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL 31

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3236WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL - JANUARY 201232

Not being able to go pee barefoot

in the middle of the nightrdquo Aicia ua wwwrodadasnet

ldquoMy WardrobeEvery girl should have more

than 3 sets of clothes to choose from

H loyd httphelenstakeoncom

ldquoNadda nil nix zippo zilch zip

lotta Hdo wwwskalatitudecom

Longing for

My kitchen - as a hungry cyclist

I dream about itrdquoTom Kevill-Davies wwwhungrycyclistcom

ldquoThe comfort of my own toilet

Dennis Koomen

wwwtoko-op-etsvakantienl

Facebook as I do not take a

smartphone on my tripsrdquoDirk van Hulle

wwwfacebookcomdirkvanhulle

Monday morning tube ride into

lodorsquo rat racrdquoHenry Brydon wwwtheblazingsaddlescom

rdquo

ldquo

rdquo

rdquo

rdquo

rdquo

Twitt - it i difct to cyc ad twtrdquoSimon Stewart wwwsilk-wheelscom

Sitting on the coach watchingmovies with my familyrdquoDustin Orrick wwwwork2ridecom

Clearly marked prices when shoppingrdquoFred Spengler

wwwcrazyguyonabikecomonrbikes

ldquoShoes that donrsquot go ldquoclick clickrdquo

when you walk

Guy Moodie wwwabikejourneycom

ldquoNot having to put on

frozen shoes in the morningThoma riy

wwwaroundtheworldforwatercouk

Anything that casts a shadow

resting in the shaderdquoDavid Gregory wwwboomersonbikescom

ldquo A loud stereo - to drown out the sound

of big trucks and noisy carsDave Conroy wwwtiredotca

What do cyclists miss on their trips

ldquoChairman Meowthe coolest cat in Canada

Mike Boles httpmikeonbikewordpresscom

ldquoKnowing the name of the place Irsquom

headed to when asked where Irsquom going

emma Phipott wwwrolling-talescom

Photo PAul JeurIssen

rdquo

rdquo

rdquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3336

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3436WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL - JANUARY 201234

SPEEDSTERS By STEVE FABES

COLUMN

Chances are you have met one Phap yo v a o Had ow back amot hoizota max-

imum two panniers and eyes scanning the trailing asphalt ner-

voy taig tig gac at th odomt Itrsquo th spdt

The

During my journey Irsquove

met many cyclists striving

to ride the length of Africa

in just four months many

others are chasing world

records and several orga-

nized tours have sproutedup in recent years making

The Speedster as ubiqui-

tous in this world as drunk

British nineteen year olds on Gap Years

This entity seems to exist only on

busy highways and dreary uninspir-

ing parts of the world never on rough

roads never in those wild placesWhen we do cross paths the conver-

sation follows a predictable pattern

often beginning with ldquoSo how many ki-

lometres have you comerdquo Followed

swiftly by ldquoAnd how long did that takerdquo

Cue furrowed brow mental arithmetic

is in progress as The Speedster tries to

calculate exactly how many more kilome-

tres they cover per month than you do

Itrsquos a shame that wersquove entered an era

of fast and furious bike adventures I canrsquot

help but wonder whether

people are forgetting what

for me is the ultimate high

of traveling by bicycle - the

slow transition The bicycle

is simply one of the best

mediums to explore a coun-try in detail As one place

slowly merges with another

bicycle travelers watch the

world evolve Why race through To see

a lot but to experience little By setting a

time limit you beef up the challenge but

acic omthig that to m at at i

far more important - the adventure Thetimes I have felt most alive have been

on those dusty tracks at the very edge of

civilization The times Irsquove relished more

than any other have been when Irsquove tak-

en up offers of hospitality from local peo-

ple offers which I presume would often

be declined by the speed freaks all in the

name of a few more miles before sunset

Phap Irsquom vgig o big o of

those conceited know-it-alls the type of

irritating traveler who seems convinced

P h o t o S T E

V E F A B E S

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3536JANUARY 2012 - WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL 35

Dr Steve Fabes aims to cycle the length ofthe 6 continents while raising money for the

UK health charity Merlin You can followSteve at wwwcyclingthe6blogspotcom

CONTRIBUTORSthey are exploring the world in a superior

way than most but why not take more

time to look around Constantly dwell-

ing on distance and on time and on the

future means you forget to be surprised

by the present Why not resist always

taking the shortest or the easiest path

loop a ptti tha taight i

Shrug off that addiction to asphalt Take

time to banter with passersby and every

once in a while take a detour through a

town or village just because it has a fun-

ny sounding name on the map

And to The Speedsters out there I

have a few suggestions to make life eas-ier First off - a urinary catheter to oblit-

erate the need for all those time wast-

ing toilet stops A straw into your mouth

connected to a huge hat containing car-

bo-rich liquidized mush the kind of stuff

NASA gives to its astronauts And lastly

a tiny video camera on the handlebars

recording everything that occurs outsideyo twty dg via d That way

if something interesting happens to your

left or right therersquos no need to turn your

had catig dag ad acicig v-

locity Just watch it on tape afterwards in

the comfort of your own home whilst you

tell your friends and family how amazing

the experience was although you wishthat puncture on the N2 hadnacutet dented

your November average And next time

we meet - have some empathy please

Wersquore not all like you so letrsquos not talk in

numbers Tell me a good story insteadBT

AALDRIK MULDER

ALICIA URREA

ALVARO NEIL

AMAYA WILLIAMS

ANDREW MORGAN

ANDREW SYKES

BENJAMIN JACOB

DAVE CONROY

DAVID GREGORY

DAVID PIPER

DEAN CLEMENTSON

DENNIS KOOMEN

DIRK VAN HULLE

DUSTIN ORRICK

ED BRABANDER

EMMA PHILPOTT

FABIAN NAWRATH

FEARGHAL ONUALLAIN

FRED SPENGLER

FRIEDEL GRANT

GUY MOODIE

HANNA MI JAKOBSON

HARRY WAGENAAR

HELEN LLOYD

HENRIK RISAGER

HENRY BRYDON

JACK MOORE

JANYIS WATSON

JARED MITCHELL

JOSIE DEW

KATIE TIBBETTS

LEONARDO CORRADINI

LIZ WILTON

LORETTA HENDERSON

LYNETTE EYB

MARC FREEDMAN

MIKE BOLES

MIRJAM WOUTERS

PAUL JEURISSEN

RACHEL HUGENS

ROB HALKETT

ROB LUCAS

RUDI VERHAGEN

SCOTT STOLL

SHANE LITTLE

SIMON STEWART

STEVE FABES

THOMAS RILEY

TOM KEVILL-DAVIES

TYLER KELLEN

WILLEM MEGENS

rciv a SHOW IT book

with your FREE subscription to

Bicycle Traveler magazinewwwbicycletravelernl

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3636

Photo FEARGHAL Orsquo NUALLAIN

TravelerBicycle

Parting shot

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 2436

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 2536JANUARY 2012 - WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL 25

INTERVIEW

Q If you could come back and

ride anywhere in France where

would you go

A evywh

Q And where would you avoid

A Th otkit of Mai

Q Yoursquove cycled all over the

world ndash how does France rate

when you compare it to all the

other exotic destinations yoursquove

written about

A It vy co to th top of th it

Q In your early days you man-

aged to convince lots of non-cy-

cling friends to undertake some

pretty long rides with you Doyou have any advice for cyclists

who have reluctant partners or

friends theyrsquore trying to cajole

along for a ride

A Pg foth ito th kow ndash

its much more fun and much more

memorable than doing something safeand tedious

Q France has some great

routes for families ndash the Loire

the vineyard routes of Gironde

the greenways of Brittany

Youve got two mini-cyclists

of your own who are clock-

ing up the miles ndash whatrsquos so

great about introducing kids

to cycling

A Fdom advt ig ad

noticing things that they never would

when strapped into a vehicle enjoy-

ing life without being reliant on some

computerized gadget being outdoors in

all weathers It also makes them sleep

exceptionally well

Australian cyclist Lynette Eyb startedwwwfreewheelingfrancecom to help other

bicyclists plan their trips through France

BT

Josie Dew is the author of several popularcycling adventure books such as ldquoTheWind in My Wheels Travel Tales from the

Saddlerdquo and ldquoA Ride in the Neon Sun AGaijin in Japanrdquo For more information see

wwwjosiedewcom

ldquoFrench people like

cyclists even ones

with panniersrdquo

Q What three items canrsquot you

cycle without

A Tt to-cip ad a mii lathma

Q Any nal words of advice for

people thinking about cycling in

France

A Tat with xtm catio th biq-

ito igpot that poit TOuTes

DIreCTIOns How ca yo go i a

directions at once especially when its

pointing in the opposite direction from

the one you want to go

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 2636WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL - JANUARY 201226

BENJAMIN JACOBwwwglobecyclersde

China

Image Roadthe

from

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 2736JANUARY 2012 - WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL 27

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 2836WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL - JANUARY 201228

FABIAN NAWRATH

wwwafricabybikede

Uganda Image Roadthe

from

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 2936JANUARY 2012 - WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL 29

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3036WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL - JANUARY 201230

PAUL JEURISSENwwwpauljeurissennl

India

Image Roadthe

from

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3136JANUARY 2012 - WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL 31

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3236WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL - JANUARY 201232

Not being able to go pee barefoot

in the middle of the nightrdquo Aicia ua wwwrodadasnet

ldquoMy WardrobeEvery girl should have more

than 3 sets of clothes to choose from

H loyd httphelenstakeoncom

ldquoNadda nil nix zippo zilch zip

lotta Hdo wwwskalatitudecom

Longing for

My kitchen - as a hungry cyclist

I dream about itrdquoTom Kevill-Davies wwwhungrycyclistcom

ldquoThe comfort of my own toilet

Dennis Koomen

wwwtoko-op-etsvakantienl

Facebook as I do not take a

smartphone on my tripsrdquoDirk van Hulle

wwwfacebookcomdirkvanhulle

Monday morning tube ride into

lodorsquo rat racrdquoHenry Brydon wwwtheblazingsaddlescom

rdquo

ldquo

rdquo

rdquo

rdquo

rdquo

Twitt - it i difct to cyc ad twtrdquoSimon Stewart wwwsilk-wheelscom

Sitting on the coach watchingmovies with my familyrdquoDustin Orrick wwwwork2ridecom

Clearly marked prices when shoppingrdquoFred Spengler

wwwcrazyguyonabikecomonrbikes

ldquoShoes that donrsquot go ldquoclick clickrdquo

when you walk

Guy Moodie wwwabikejourneycom

ldquoNot having to put on

frozen shoes in the morningThoma riy

wwwaroundtheworldforwatercouk

Anything that casts a shadow

resting in the shaderdquoDavid Gregory wwwboomersonbikescom

ldquo A loud stereo - to drown out the sound

of big trucks and noisy carsDave Conroy wwwtiredotca

What do cyclists miss on their trips

ldquoChairman Meowthe coolest cat in Canada

Mike Boles httpmikeonbikewordpresscom

ldquoKnowing the name of the place Irsquom

headed to when asked where Irsquom going

emma Phipott wwwrolling-talescom

Photo PAul JeurIssen

rdquo

rdquo

rdquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3336

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3436WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL - JANUARY 201234

SPEEDSTERS By STEVE FABES

COLUMN

Chances are you have met one Phap yo v a o Had ow back amot hoizota max-

imum two panniers and eyes scanning the trailing asphalt ner-

voy taig tig gac at th odomt Itrsquo th spdt

The

During my journey Irsquove

met many cyclists striving

to ride the length of Africa

in just four months many

others are chasing world

records and several orga-

nized tours have sproutedup in recent years making

The Speedster as ubiqui-

tous in this world as drunk

British nineteen year olds on Gap Years

This entity seems to exist only on

busy highways and dreary uninspir-

ing parts of the world never on rough

roads never in those wild placesWhen we do cross paths the conver-

sation follows a predictable pattern

often beginning with ldquoSo how many ki-

lometres have you comerdquo Followed

swiftly by ldquoAnd how long did that takerdquo

Cue furrowed brow mental arithmetic

is in progress as The Speedster tries to

calculate exactly how many more kilome-

tres they cover per month than you do

Itrsquos a shame that wersquove entered an era

of fast and furious bike adventures I canrsquot

help but wonder whether

people are forgetting what

for me is the ultimate high

of traveling by bicycle - the

slow transition The bicycle

is simply one of the best

mediums to explore a coun-try in detail As one place

slowly merges with another

bicycle travelers watch the

world evolve Why race through To see

a lot but to experience little By setting a

time limit you beef up the challenge but

acic omthig that to m at at i

far more important - the adventure Thetimes I have felt most alive have been

on those dusty tracks at the very edge of

civilization The times Irsquove relished more

than any other have been when Irsquove tak-

en up offers of hospitality from local peo-

ple offers which I presume would often

be declined by the speed freaks all in the

name of a few more miles before sunset

Phap Irsquom vgig o big o of

those conceited know-it-alls the type of

irritating traveler who seems convinced

P h o t o S T E

V E F A B E S

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3536JANUARY 2012 - WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL 35

Dr Steve Fabes aims to cycle the length ofthe 6 continents while raising money for the

UK health charity Merlin You can followSteve at wwwcyclingthe6blogspotcom

CONTRIBUTORSthey are exploring the world in a superior

way than most but why not take more

time to look around Constantly dwell-

ing on distance and on time and on the

future means you forget to be surprised

by the present Why not resist always

taking the shortest or the easiest path

loop a ptti tha taight i

Shrug off that addiction to asphalt Take

time to banter with passersby and every

once in a while take a detour through a

town or village just because it has a fun-

ny sounding name on the map

And to The Speedsters out there I

have a few suggestions to make life eas-ier First off - a urinary catheter to oblit-

erate the need for all those time wast-

ing toilet stops A straw into your mouth

connected to a huge hat containing car-

bo-rich liquidized mush the kind of stuff

NASA gives to its astronauts And lastly

a tiny video camera on the handlebars

recording everything that occurs outsideyo twty dg via d That way

if something interesting happens to your

left or right therersquos no need to turn your

had catig dag ad acicig v-

locity Just watch it on tape afterwards in

the comfort of your own home whilst you

tell your friends and family how amazing

the experience was although you wishthat puncture on the N2 hadnacutet dented

your November average And next time

we meet - have some empathy please

Wersquore not all like you so letrsquos not talk in

numbers Tell me a good story insteadBT

AALDRIK MULDER

ALICIA URREA

ALVARO NEIL

AMAYA WILLIAMS

ANDREW MORGAN

ANDREW SYKES

BENJAMIN JACOB

DAVE CONROY

DAVID GREGORY

DAVID PIPER

DEAN CLEMENTSON

DENNIS KOOMEN

DIRK VAN HULLE

DUSTIN ORRICK

ED BRABANDER

EMMA PHILPOTT

FABIAN NAWRATH

FEARGHAL ONUALLAIN

FRED SPENGLER

FRIEDEL GRANT

GUY MOODIE

HANNA MI JAKOBSON

HARRY WAGENAAR

HELEN LLOYD

HENRIK RISAGER

HENRY BRYDON

JACK MOORE

JANYIS WATSON

JARED MITCHELL

JOSIE DEW

KATIE TIBBETTS

LEONARDO CORRADINI

LIZ WILTON

LORETTA HENDERSON

LYNETTE EYB

MARC FREEDMAN

MIKE BOLES

MIRJAM WOUTERS

PAUL JEURISSEN

RACHEL HUGENS

ROB HALKETT

ROB LUCAS

RUDI VERHAGEN

SCOTT STOLL

SHANE LITTLE

SIMON STEWART

STEVE FABES

THOMAS RILEY

TOM KEVILL-DAVIES

TYLER KELLEN

WILLEM MEGENS

rciv a SHOW IT book

with your FREE subscription to

Bicycle Traveler magazinewwwbicycletravelernl

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3636

Photo FEARGHAL Orsquo NUALLAIN

TravelerBicycle

Parting shot

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 2536JANUARY 2012 - WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL 25

INTERVIEW

Q If you could come back and

ride anywhere in France where

would you go

A evywh

Q And where would you avoid

A Th otkit of Mai

Q Yoursquove cycled all over the

world ndash how does France rate

when you compare it to all the

other exotic destinations yoursquove

written about

A It vy co to th top of th it

Q In your early days you man-

aged to convince lots of non-cy-

cling friends to undertake some

pretty long rides with you Doyou have any advice for cyclists

who have reluctant partners or

friends theyrsquore trying to cajole

along for a ride

A Pg foth ito th kow ndash

its much more fun and much more

memorable than doing something safeand tedious

Q France has some great

routes for families ndash the Loire

the vineyard routes of Gironde

the greenways of Brittany

Youve got two mini-cyclists

of your own who are clock-

ing up the miles ndash whatrsquos so

great about introducing kids

to cycling

A Fdom advt ig ad

noticing things that they never would

when strapped into a vehicle enjoy-

ing life without being reliant on some

computerized gadget being outdoors in

all weathers It also makes them sleep

exceptionally well

Australian cyclist Lynette Eyb startedwwwfreewheelingfrancecom to help other

bicyclists plan their trips through France

BT

Josie Dew is the author of several popularcycling adventure books such as ldquoTheWind in My Wheels Travel Tales from the

Saddlerdquo and ldquoA Ride in the Neon Sun AGaijin in Japanrdquo For more information see

wwwjosiedewcom

ldquoFrench people like

cyclists even ones

with panniersrdquo

Q What three items canrsquot you

cycle without

A Tt to-cip ad a mii lathma

Q Any nal words of advice for

people thinking about cycling in

France

A Tat with xtm catio th biq-

ito igpot that poit TOuTes

DIreCTIOns How ca yo go i a

directions at once especially when its

pointing in the opposite direction from

the one you want to go

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 2636WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL - JANUARY 201226

BENJAMIN JACOBwwwglobecyclersde

China

Image Roadthe

from

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 2736JANUARY 2012 - WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL 27

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 2836WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL - JANUARY 201228

FABIAN NAWRATH

wwwafricabybikede

Uganda Image Roadthe

from

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 2936JANUARY 2012 - WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL 29

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3036WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL - JANUARY 201230

PAUL JEURISSENwwwpauljeurissennl

India

Image Roadthe

from

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3136JANUARY 2012 - WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL 31

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3236WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL - JANUARY 201232

Not being able to go pee barefoot

in the middle of the nightrdquo Aicia ua wwwrodadasnet

ldquoMy WardrobeEvery girl should have more

than 3 sets of clothes to choose from

H loyd httphelenstakeoncom

ldquoNadda nil nix zippo zilch zip

lotta Hdo wwwskalatitudecom

Longing for

My kitchen - as a hungry cyclist

I dream about itrdquoTom Kevill-Davies wwwhungrycyclistcom

ldquoThe comfort of my own toilet

Dennis Koomen

wwwtoko-op-etsvakantienl

Facebook as I do not take a

smartphone on my tripsrdquoDirk van Hulle

wwwfacebookcomdirkvanhulle

Monday morning tube ride into

lodorsquo rat racrdquoHenry Brydon wwwtheblazingsaddlescom

rdquo

ldquo

rdquo

rdquo

rdquo

rdquo

Twitt - it i difct to cyc ad twtrdquoSimon Stewart wwwsilk-wheelscom

Sitting on the coach watchingmovies with my familyrdquoDustin Orrick wwwwork2ridecom

Clearly marked prices when shoppingrdquoFred Spengler

wwwcrazyguyonabikecomonrbikes

ldquoShoes that donrsquot go ldquoclick clickrdquo

when you walk

Guy Moodie wwwabikejourneycom

ldquoNot having to put on

frozen shoes in the morningThoma riy

wwwaroundtheworldforwatercouk

Anything that casts a shadow

resting in the shaderdquoDavid Gregory wwwboomersonbikescom

ldquo A loud stereo - to drown out the sound

of big trucks and noisy carsDave Conroy wwwtiredotca

What do cyclists miss on their trips

ldquoChairman Meowthe coolest cat in Canada

Mike Boles httpmikeonbikewordpresscom

ldquoKnowing the name of the place Irsquom

headed to when asked where Irsquom going

emma Phipott wwwrolling-talescom

Photo PAul JeurIssen

rdquo

rdquo

rdquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3336

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3436WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL - JANUARY 201234

SPEEDSTERS By STEVE FABES

COLUMN

Chances are you have met one Phap yo v a o Had ow back amot hoizota max-

imum two panniers and eyes scanning the trailing asphalt ner-

voy taig tig gac at th odomt Itrsquo th spdt

The

During my journey Irsquove

met many cyclists striving

to ride the length of Africa

in just four months many

others are chasing world

records and several orga-

nized tours have sproutedup in recent years making

The Speedster as ubiqui-

tous in this world as drunk

British nineteen year olds on Gap Years

This entity seems to exist only on

busy highways and dreary uninspir-

ing parts of the world never on rough

roads never in those wild placesWhen we do cross paths the conver-

sation follows a predictable pattern

often beginning with ldquoSo how many ki-

lometres have you comerdquo Followed

swiftly by ldquoAnd how long did that takerdquo

Cue furrowed brow mental arithmetic

is in progress as The Speedster tries to

calculate exactly how many more kilome-

tres they cover per month than you do

Itrsquos a shame that wersquove entered an era

of fast and furious bike adventures I canrsquot

help but wonder whether

people are forgetting what

for me is the ultimate high

of traveling by bicycle - the

slow transition The bicycle

is simply one of the best

mediums to explore a coun-try in detail As one place

slowly merges with another

bicycle travelers watch the

world evolve Why race through To see

a lot but to experience little By setting a

time limit you beef up the challenge but

acic omthig that to m at at i

far more important - the adventure Thetimes I have felt most alive have been

on those dusty tracks at the very edge of

civilization The times Irsquove relished more

than any other have been when Irsquove tak-

en up offers of hospitality from local peo-

ple offers which I presume would often

be declined by the speed freaks all in the

name of a few more miles before sunset

Phap Irsquom vgig o big o of

those conceited know-it-alls the type of

irritating traveler who seems convinced

P h o t o S T E

V E F A B E S

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3536JANUARY 2012 - WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL 35

Dr Steve Fabes aims to cycle the length ofthe 6 continents while raising money for the

UK health charity Merlin You can followSteve at wwwcyclingthe6blogspotcom

CONTRIBUTORSthey are exploring the world in a superior

way than most but why not take more

time to look around Constantly dwell-

ing on distance and on time and on the

future means you forget to be surprised

by the present Why not resist always

taking the shortest or the easiest path

loop a ptti tha taight i

Shrug off that addiction to asphalt Take

time to banter with passersby and every

once in a while take a detour through a

town or village just because it has a fun-

ny sounding name on the map

And to The Speedsters out there I

have a few suggestions to make life eas-ier First off - a urinary catheter to oblit-

erate the need for all those time wast-

ing toilet stops A straw into your mouth

connected to a huge hat containing car-

bo-rich liquidized mush the kind of stuff

NASA gives to its astronauts And lastly

a tiny video camera on the handlebars

recording everything that occurs outsideyo twty dg via d That way

if something interesting happens to your

left or right therersquos no need to turn your

had catig dag ad acicig v-

locity Just watch it on tape afterwards in

the comfort of your own home whilst you

tell your friends and family how amazing

the experience was although you wishthat puncture on the N2 hadnacutet dented

your November average And next time

we meet - have some empathy please

Wersquore not all like you so letrsquos not talk in

numbers Tell me a good story insteadBT

AALDRIK MULDER

ALICIA URREA

ALVARO NEIL

AMAYA WILLIAMS

ANDREW MORGAN

ANDREW SYKES

BENJAMIN JACOB

DAVE CONROY

DAVID GREGORY

DAVID PIPER

DEAN CLEMENTSON

DENNIS KOOMEN

DIRK VAN HULLE

DUSTIN ORRICK

ED BRABANDER

EMMA PHILPOTT

FABIAN NAWRATH

FEARGHAL ONUALLAIN

FRED SPENGLER

FRIEDEL GRANT

GUY MOODIE

HANNA MI JAKOBSON

HARRY WAGENAAR

HELEN LLOYD

HENRIK RISAGER

HENRY BRYDON

JACK MOORE

JANYIS WATSON

JARED MITCHELL

JOSIE DEW

KATIE TIBBETTS

LEONARDO CORRADINI

LIZ WILTON

LORETTA HENDERSON

LYNETTE EYB

MARC FREEDMAN

MIKE BOLES

MIRJAM WOUTERS

PAUL JEURISSEN

RACHEL HUGENS

ROB HALKETT

ROB LUCAS

RUDI VERHAGEN

SCOTT STOLL

SHANE LITTLE

SIMON STEWART

STEVE FABES

THOMAS RILEY

TOM KEVILL-DAVIES

TYLER KELLEN

WILLEM MEGENS

rciv a SHOW IT book

with your FREE subscription to

Bicycle Traveler magazinewwwbicycletravelernl

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3636

Photo FEARGHAL Orsquo NUALLAIN

TravelerBicycle

Parting shot

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 2636WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL - JANUARY 201226

BENJAMIN JACOBwwwglobecyclersde

China

Image Roadthe

from

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 2736JANUARY 2012 - WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL 27

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 2836WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL - JANUARY 201228

FABIAN NAWRATH

wwwafricabybikede

Uganda Image Roadthe

from

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 2936JANUARY 2012 - WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL 29

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3036WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL - JANUARY 201230

PAUL JEURISSENwwwpauljeurissennl

India

Image Roadthe

from

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3136JANUARY 2012 - WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL 31

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3236WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL - JANUARY 201232

Not being able to go pee barefoot

in the middle of the nightrdquo Aicia ua wwwrodadasnet

ldquoMy WardrobeEvery girl should have more

than 3 sets of clothes to choose from

H loyd httphelenstakeoncom

ldquoNadda nil nix zippo zilch zip

lotta Hdo wwwskalatitudecom

Longing for

My kitchen - as a hungry cyclist

I dream about itrdquoTom Kevill-Davies wwwhungrycyclistcom

ldquoThe comfort of my own toilet

Dennis Koomen

wwwtoko-op-etsvakantienl

Facebook as I do not take a

smartphone on my tripsrdquoDirk van Hulle

wwwfacebookcomdirkvanhulle

Monday morning tube ride into

lodorsquo rat racrdquoHenry Brydon wwwtheblazingsaddlescom

rdquo

ldquo

rdquo

rdquo

rdquo

rdquo

Twitt - it i difct to cyc ad twtrdquoSimon Stewart wwwsilk-wheelscom

Sitting on the coach watchingmovies with my familyrdquoDustin Orrick wwwwork2ridecom

Clearly marked prices when shoppingrdquoFred Spengler

wwwcrazyguyonabikecomonrbikes

ldquoShoes that donrsquot go ldquoclick clickrdquo

when you walk

Guy Moodie wwwabikejourneycom

ldquoNot having to put on

frozen shoes in the morningThoma riy

wwwaroundtheworldforwatercouk

Anything that casts a shadow

resting in the shaderdquoDavid Gregory wwwboomersonbikescom

ldquo A loud stereo - to drown out the sound

of big trucks and noisy carsDave Conroy wwwtiredotca

What do cyclists miss on their trips

ldquoChairman Meowthe coolest cat in Canada

Mike Boles httpmikeonbikewordpresscom

ldquoKnowing the name of the place Irsquom

headed to when asked where Irsquom going

emma Phipott wwwrolling-talescom

Photo PAul JeurIssen

rdquo

rdquo

rdquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3336

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3436WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL - JANUARY 201234

SPEEDSTERS By STEVE FABES

COLUMN

Chances are you have met one Phap yo v a o Had ow back amot hoizota max-

imum two panniers and eyes scanning the trailing asphalt ner-

voy taig tig gac at th odomt Itrsquo th spdt

The

During my journey Irsquove

met many cyclists striving

to ride the length of Africa

in just four months many

others are chasing world

records and several orga-

nized tours have sproutedup in recent years making

The Speedster as ubiqui-

tous in this world as drunk

British nineteen year olds on Gap Years

This entity seems to exist only on

busy highways and dreary uninspir-

ing parts of the world never on rough

roads never in those wild placesWhen we do cross paths the conver-

sation follows a predictable pattern

often beginning with ldquoSo how many ki-

lometres have you comerdquo Followed

swiftly by ldquoAnd how long did that takerdquo

Cue furrowed brow mental arithmetic

is in progress as The Speedster tries to

calculate exactly how many more kilome-

tres they cover per month than you do

Itrsquos a shame that wersquove entered an era

of fast and furious bike adventures I canrsquot

help but wonder whether

people are forgetting what

for me is the ultimate high

of traveling by bicycle - the

slow transition The bicycle

is simply one of the best

mediums to explore a coun-try in detail As one place

slowly merges with another

bicycle travelers watch the

world evolve Why race through To see

a lot but to experience little By setting a

time limit you beef up the challenge but

acic omthig that to m at at i

far more important - the adventure Thetimes I have felt most alive have been

on those dusty tracks at the very edge of

civilization The times Irsquove relished more

than any other have been when Irsquove tak-

en up offers of hospitality from local peo-

ple offers which I presume would often

be declined by the speed freaks all in the

name of a few more miles before sunset

Phap Irsquom vgig o big o of

those conceited know-it-alls the type of

irritating traveler who seems convinced

P h o t o S T E

V E F A B E S

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3536JANUARY 2012 - WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL 35

Dr Steve Fabes aims to cycle the length ofthe 6 continents while raising money for the

UK health charity Merlin You can followSteve at wwwcyclingthe6blogspotcom

CONTRIBUTORSthey are exploring the world in a superior

way than most but why not take more

time to look around Constantly dwell-

ing on distance and on time and on the

future means you forget to be surprised

by the present Why not resist always

taking the shortest or the easiest path

loop a ptti tha taight i

Shrug off that addiction to asphalt Take

time to banter with passersby and every

once in a while take a detour through a

town or village just because it has a fun-

ny sounding name on the map

And to The Speedsters out there I

have a few suggestions to make life eas-ier First off - a urinary catheter to oblit-

erate the need for all those time wast-

ing toilet stops A straw into your mouth

connected to a huge hat containing car-

bo-rich liquidized mush the kind of stuff

NASA gives to its astronauts And lastly

a tiny video camera on the handlebars

recording everything that occurs outsideyo twty dg via d That way

if something interesting happens to your

left or right therersquos no need to turn your

had catig dag ad acicig v-

locity Just watch it on tape afterwards in

the comfort of your own home whilst you

tell your friends and family how amazing

the experience was although you wishthat puncture on the N2 hadnacutet dented

your November average And next time

we meet - have some empathy please

Wersquore not all like you so letrsquos not talk in

numbers Tell me a good story insteadBT

AALDRIK MULDER

ALICIA URREA

ALVARO NEIL

AMAYA WILLIAMS

ANDREW MORGAN

ANDREW SYKES

BENJAMIN JACOB

DAVE CONROY

DAVID GREGORY

DAVID PIPER

DEAN CLEMENTSON

DENNIS KOOMEN

DIRK VAN HULLE

DUSTIN ORRICK

ED BRABANDER

EMMA PHILPOTT

FABIAN NAWRATH

FEARGHAL ONUALLAIN

FRED SPENGLER

FRIEDEL GRANT

GUY MOODIE

HANNA MI JAKOBSON

HARRY WAGENAAR

HELEN LLOYD

HENRIK RISAGER

HENRY BRYDON

JACK MOORE

JANYIS WATSON

JARED MITCHELL

JOSIE DEW

KATIE TIBBETTS

LEONARDO CORRADINI

LIZ WILTON

LORETTA HENDERSON

LYNETTE EYB

MARC FREEDMAN

MIKE BOLES

MIRJAM WOUTERS

PAUL JEURISSEN

RACHEL HUGENS

ROB HALKETT

ROB LUCAS

RUDI VERHAGEN

SCOTT STOLL

SHANE LITTLE

SIMON STEWART

STEVE FABES

THOMAS RILEY

TOM KEVILL-DAVIES

TYLER KELLEN

WILLEM MEGENS

rciv a SHOW IT book

with your FREE subscription to

Bicycle Traveler magazinewwwbicycletravelernl

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3636

Photo FEARGHAL Orsquo NUALLAIN

TravelerBicycle

Parting shot

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 2736JANUARY 2012 - WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL 27

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 2836WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL - JANUARY 201228

FABIAN NAWRATH

wwwafricabybikede

Uganda Image Roadthe

from

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 2936JANUARY 2012 - WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL 29

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3036WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL - JANUARY 201230

PAUL JEURISSENwwwpauljeurissennl

India

Image Roadthe

from

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3136JANUARY 2012 - WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL 31

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3236WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL - JANUARY 201232

Not being able to go pee barefoot

in the middle of the nightrdquo Aicia ua wwwrodadasnet

ldquoMy WardrobeEvery girl should have more

than 3 sets of clothes to choose from

H loyd httphelenstakeoncom

ldquoNadda nil nix zippo zilch zip

lotta Hdo wwwskalatitudecom

Longing for

My kitchen - as a hungry cyclist

I dream about itrdquoTom Kevill-Davies wwwhungrycyclistcom

ldquoThe comfort of my own toilet

Dennis Koomen

wwwtoko-op-etsvakantienl

Facebook as I do not take a

smartphone on my tripsrdquoDirk van Hulle

wwwfacebookcomdirkvanhulle

Monday morning tube ride into

lodorsquo rat racrdquoHenry Brydon wwwtheblazingsaddlescom

rdquo

ldquo

rdquo

rdquo

rdquo

rdquo

Twitt - it i difct to cyc ad twtrdquoSimon Stewart wwwsilk-wheelscom

Sitting on the coach watchingmovies with my familyrdquoDustin Orrick wwwwork2ridecom

Clearly marked prices when shoppingrdquoFred Spengler

wwwcrazyguyonabikecomonrbikes

ldquoShoes that donrsquot go ldquoclick clickrdquo

when you walk

Guy Moodie wwwabikejourneycom

ldquoNot having to put on

frozen shoes in the morningThoma riy

wwwaroundtheworldforwatercouk

Anything that casts a shadow

resting in the shaderdquoDavid Gregory wwwboomersonbikescom

ldquo A loud stereo - to drown out the sound

of big trucks and noisy carsDave Conroy wwwtiredotca

What do cyclists miss on their trips

ldquoChairman Meowthe coolest cat in Canada

Mike Boles httpmikeonbikewordpresscom

ldquoKnowing the name of the place Irsquom

headed to when asked where Irsquom going

emma Phipott wwwrolling-talescom

Photo PAul JeurIssen

rdquo

rdquo

rdquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3336

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3436WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL - JANUARY 201234

SPEEDSTERS By STEVE FABES

COLUMN

Chances are you have met one Phap yo v a o Had ow back amot hoizota max-

imum two panniers and eyes scanning the trailing asphalt ner-

voy taig tig gac at th odomt Itrsquo th spdt

The

During my journey Irsquove

met many cyclists striving

to ride the length of Africa

in just four months many

others are chasing world

records and several orga-

nized tours have sproutedup in recent years making

The Speedster as ubiqui-

tous in this world as drunk

British nineteen year olds on Gap Years

This entity seems to exist only on

busy highways and dreary uninspir-

ing parts of the world never on rough

roads never in those wild placesWhen we do cross paths the conver-

sation follows a predictable pattern

often beginning with ldquoSo how many ki-

lometres have you comerdquo Followed

swiftly by ldquoAnd how long did that takerdquo

Cue furrowed brow mental arithmetic

is in progress as The Speedster tries to

calculate exactly how many more kilome-

tres they cover per month than you do

Itrsquos a shame that wersquove entered an era

of fast and furious bike adventures I canrsquot

help but wonder whether

people are forgetting what

for me is the ultimate high

of traveling by bicycle - the

slow transition The bicycle

is simply one of the best

mediums to explore a coun-try in detail As one place

slowly merges with another

bicycle travelers watch the

world evolve Why race through To see

a lot but to experience little By setting a

time limit you beef up the challenge but

acic omthig that to m at at i

far more important - the adventure Thetimes I have felt most alive have been

on those dusty tracks at the very edge of

civilization The times Irsquove relished more

than any other have been when Irsquove tak-

en up offers of hospitality from local peo-

ple offers which I presume would often

be declined by the speed freaks all in the

name of a few more miles before sunset

Phap Irsquom vgig o big o of

those conceited know-it-alls the type of

irritating traveler who seems convinced

P h o t o S T E

V E F A B E S

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3536JANUARY 2012 - WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL 35

Dr Steve Fabes aims to cycle the length ofthe 6 continents while raising money for the

UK health charity Merlin You can followSteve at wwwcyclingthe6blogspotcom

CONTRIBUTORSthey are exploring the world in a superior

way than most but why not take more

time to look around Constantly dwell-

ing on distance and on time and on the

future means you forget to be surprised

by the present Why not resist always

taking the shortest or the easiest path

loop a ptti tha taight i

Shrug off that addiction to asphalt Take

time to banter with passersby and every

once in a while take a detour through a

town or village just because it has a fun-

ny sounding name on the map

And to The Speedsters out there I

have a few suggestions to make life eas-ier First off - a urinary catheter to oblit-

erate the need for all those time wast-

ing toilet stops A straw into your mouth

connected to a huge hat containing car-

bo-rich liquidized mush the kind of stuff

NASA gives to its astronauts And lastly

a tiny video camera on the handlebars

recording everything that occurs outsideyo twty dg via d That way

if something interesting happens to your

left or right therersquos no need to turn your

had catig dag ad acicig v-

locity Just watch it on tape afterwards in

the comfort of your own home whilst you

tell your friends and family how amazing

the experience was although you wishthat puncture on the N2 hadnacutet dented

your November average And next time

we meet - have some empathy please

Wersquore not all like you so letrsquos not talk in

numbers Tell me a good story insteadBT

AALDRIK MULDER

ALICIA URREA

ALVARO NEIL

AMAYA WILLIAMS

ANDREW MORGAN

ANDREW SYKES

BENJAMIN JACOB

DAVE CONROY

DAVID GREGORY

DAVID PIPER

DEAN CLEMENTSON

DENNIS KOOMEN

DIRK VAN HULLE

DUSTIN ORRICK

ED BRABANDER

EMMA PHILPOTT

FABIAN NAWRATH

FEARGHAL ONUALLAIN

FRED SPENGLER

FRIEDEL GRANT

GUY MOODIE

HANNA MI JAKOBSON

HARRY WAGENAAR

HELEN LLOYD

HENRIK RISAGER

HENRY BRYDON

JACK MOORE

JANYIS WATSON

JARED MITCHELL

JOSIE DEW

KATIE TIBBETTS

LEONARDO CORRADINI

LIZ WILTON

LORETTA HENDERSON

LYNETTE EYB

MARC FREEDMAN

MIKE BOLES

MIRJAM WOUTERS

PAUL JEURISSEN

RACHEL HUGENS

ROB HALKETT

ROB LUCAS

RUDI VERHAGEN

SCOTT STOLL

SHANE LITTLE

SIMON STEWART

STEVE FABES

THOMAS RILEY

TOM KEVILL-DAVIES

TYLER KELLEN

WILLEM MEGENS

rciv a SHOW IT book

with your FREE subscription to

Bicycle Traveler magazinewwwbicycletravelernl

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3636

Photo FEARGHAL Orsquo NUALLAIN

TravelerBicycle

Parting shot

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 2836WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL - JANUARY 201228

FABIAN NAWRATH

wwwafricabybikede

Uganda Image Roadthe

from

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 2936JANUARY 2012 - WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL 29

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3036WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL - JANUARY 201230

PAUL JEURISSENwwwpauljeurissennl

India

Image Roadthe

from

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3136JANUARY 2012 - WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL 31

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3236WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL - JANUARY 201232

Not being able to go pee barefoot

in the middle of the nightrdquo Aicia ua wwwrodadasnet

ldquoMy WardrobeEvery girl should have more

than 3 sets of clothes to choose from

H loyd httphelenstakeoncom

ldquoNadda nil nix zippo zilch zip

lotta Hdo wwwskalatitudecom

Longing for

My kitchen - as a hungry cyclist

I dream about itrdquoTom Kevill-Davies wwwhungrycyclistcom

ldquoThe comfort of my own toilet

Dennis Koomen

wwwtoko-op-etsvakantienl

Facebook as I do not take a

smartphone on my tripsrdquoDirk van Hulle

wwwfacebookcomdirkvanhulle

Monday morning tube ride into

lodorsquo rat racrdquoHenry Brydon wwwtheblazingsaddlescom

rdquo

ldquo

rdquo

rdquo

rdquo

rdquo

Twitt - it i difct to cyc ad twtrdquoSimon Stewart wwwsilk-wheelscom

Sitting on the coach watchingmovies with my familyrdquoDustin Orrick wwwwork2ridecom

Clearly marked prices when shoppingrdquoFred Spengler

wwwcrazyguyonabikecomonrbikes

ldquoShoes that donrsquot go ldquoclick clickrdquo

when you walk

Guy Moodie wwwabikejourneycom

ldquoNot having to put on

frozen shoes in the morningThoma riy

wwwaroundtheworldforwatercouk

Anything that casts a shadow

resting in the shaderdquoDavid Gregory wwwboomersonbikescom

ldquo A loud stereo - to drown out the sound

of big trucks and noisy carsDave Conroy wwwtiredotca

What do cyclists miss on their trips

ldquoChairman Meowthe coolest cat in Canada

Mike Boles httpmikeonbikewordpresscom

ldquoKnowing the name of the place Irsquom

headed to when asked where Irsquom going

emma Phipott wwwrolling-talescom

Photo PAul JeurIssen

rdquo

rdquo

rdquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3336

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3436WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL - JANUARY 201234

SPEEDSTERS By STEVE FABES

COLUMN

Chances are you have met one Phap yo v a o Had ow back amot hoizota max-

imum two panniers and eyes scanning the trailing asphalt ner-

voy taig tig gac at th odomt Itrsquo th spdt

The

During my journey Irsquove

met many cyclists striving

to ride the length of Africa

in just four months many

others are chasing world

records and several orga-

nized tours have sproutedup in recent years making

The Speedster as ubiqui-

tous in this world as drunk

British nineteen year olds on Gap Years

This entity seems to exist only on

busy highways and dreary uninspir-

ing parts of the world never on rough

roads never in those wild placesWhen we do cross paths the conver-

sation follows a predictable pattern

often beginning with ldquoSo how many ki-

lometres have you comerdquo Followed

swiftly by ldquoAnd how long did that takerdquo

Cue furrowed brow mental arithmetic

is in progress as The Speedster tries to

calculate exactly how many more kilome-

tres they cover per month than you do

Itrsquos a shame that wersquove entered an era

of fast and furious bike adventures I canrsquot

help but wonder whether

people are forgetting what

for me is the ultimate high

of traveling by bicycle - the

slow transition The bicycle

is simply one of the best

mediums to explore a coun-try in detail As one place

slowly merges with another

bicycle travelers watch the

world evolve Why race through To see

a lot but to experience little By setting a

time limit you beef up the challenge but

acic omthig that to m at at i

far more important - the adventure Thetimes I have felt most alive have been

on those dusty tracks at the very edge of

civilization The times Irsquove relished more

than any other have been when Irsquove tak-

en up offers of hospitality from local peo-

ple offers which I presume would often

be declined by the speed freaks all in the

name of a few more miles before sunset

Phap Irsquom vgig o big o of

those conceited know-it-alls the type of

irritating traveler who seems convinced

P h o t o S T E

V E F A B E S

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3536JANUARY 2012 - WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL 35

Dr Steve Fabes aims to cycle the length ofthe 6 continents while raising money for the

UK health charity Merlin You can followSteve at wwwcyclingthe6blogspotcom

CONTRIBUTORSthey are exploring the world in a superior

way than most but why not take more

time to look around Constantly dwell-

ing on distance and on time and on the

future means you forget to be surprised

by the present Why not resist always

taking the shortest or the easiest path

loop a ptti tha taight i

Shrug off that addiction to asphalt Take

time to banter with passersby and every

once in a while take a detour through a

town or village just because it has a fun-

ny sounding name on the map

And to The Speedsters out there I

have a few suggestions to make life eas-ier First off - a urinary catheter to oblit-

erate the need for all those time wast-

ing toilet stops A straw into your mouth

connected to a huge hat containing car-

bo-rich liquidized mush the kind of stuff

NASA gives to its astronauts And lastly

a tiny video camera on the handlebars

recording everything that occurs outsideyo twty dg via d That way

if something interesting happens to your

left or right therersquos no need to turn your

had catig dag ad acicig v-

locity Just watch it on tape afterwards in

the comfort of your own home whilst you

tell your friends and family how amazing

the experience was although you wishthat puncture on the N2 hadnacutet dented

your November average And next time

we meet - have some empathy please

Wersquore not all like you so letrsquos not talk in

numbers Tell me a good story insteadBT

AALDRIK MULDER

ALICIA URREA

ALVARO NEIL

AMAYA WILLIAMS

ANDREW MORGAN

ANDREW SYKES

BENJAMIN JACOB

DAVE CONROY

DAVID GREGORY

DAVID PIPER

DEAN CLEMENTSON

DENNIS KOOMEN

DIRK VAN HULLE

DUSTIN ORRICK

ED BRABANDER

EMMA PHILPOTT

FABIAN NAWRATH

FEARGHAL ONUALLAIN

FRED SPENGLER

FRIEDEL GRANT

GUY MOODIE

HANNA MI JAKOBSON

HARRY WAGENAAR

HELEN LLOYD

HENRIK RISAGER

HENRY BRYDON

JACK MOORE

JANYIS WATSON

JARED MITCHELL

JOSIE DEW

KATIE TIBBETTS

LEONARDO CORRADINI

LIZ WILTON

LORETTA HENDERSON

LYNETTE EYB

MARC FREEDMAN

MIKE BOLES

MIRJAM WOUTERS

PAUL JEURISSEN

RACHEL HUGENS

ROB HALKETT

ROB LUCAS

RUDI VERHAGEN

SCOTT STOLL

SHANE LITTLE

SIMON STEWART

STEVE FABES

THOMAS RILEY

TOM KEVILL-DAVIES

TYLER KELLEN

WILLEM MEGENS

rciv a SHOW IT book

with your FREE subscription to

Bicycle Traveler magazinewwwbicycletravelernl

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3636

Photo FEARGHAL Orsquo NUALLAIN

TravelerBicycle

Parting shot

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 2936JANUARY 2012 - WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL 29

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3036WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL - JANUARY 201230

PAUL JEURISSENwwwpauljeurissennl

India

Image Roadthe

from

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3136JANUARY 2012 - WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL 31

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3236WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL - JANUARY 201232

Not being able to go pee barefoot

in the middle of the nightrdquo Aicia ua wwwrodadasnet

ldquoMy WardrobeEvery girl should have more

than 3 sets of clothes to choose from

H loyd httphelenstakeoncom

ldquoNadda nil nix zippo zilch zip

lotta Hdo wwwskalatitudecom

Longing for

My kitchen - as a hungry cyclist

I dream about itrdquoTom Kevill-Davies wwwhungrycyclistcom

ldquoThe comfort of my own toilet

Dennis Koomen

wwwtoko-op-etsvakantienl

Facebook as I do not take a

smartphone on my tripsrdquoDirk van Hulle

wwwfacebookcomdirkvanhulle

Monday morning tube ride into

lodorsquo rat racrdquoHenry Brydon wwwtheblazingsaddlescom

rdquo

ldquo

rdquo

rdquo

rdquo

rdquo

Twitt - it i difct to cyc ad twtrdquoSimon Stewart wwwsilk-wheelscom

Sitting on the coach watchingmovies with my familyrdquoDustin Orrick wwwwork2ridecom

Clearly marked prices when shoppingrdquoFred Spengler

wwwcrazyguyonabikecomonrbikes

ldquoShoes that donrsquot go ldquoclick clickrdquo

when you walk

Guy Moodie wwwabikejourneycom

ldquoNot having to put on

frozen shoes in the morningThoma riy

wwwaroundtheworldforwatercouk

Anything that casts a shadow

resting in the shaderdquoDavid Gregory wwwboomersonbikescom

ldquo A loud stereo - to drown out the sound

of big trucks and noisy carsDave Conroy wwwtiredotca

What do cyclists miss on their trips

ldquoChairman Meowthe coolest cat in Canada

Mike Boles httpmikeonbikewordpresscom

ldquoKnowing the name of the place Irsquom

headed to when asked where Irsquom going

emma Phipott wwwrolling-talescom

Photo PAul JeurIssen

rdquo

rdquo

rdquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3336

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3436WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL - JANUARY 201234

SPEEDSTERS By STEVE FABES

COLUMN

Chances are you have met one Phap yo v a o Had ow back amot hoizota max-

imum two panniers and eyes scanning the trailing asphalt ner-

voy taig tig gac at th odomt Itrsquo th spdt

The

During my journey Irsquove

met many cyclists striving

to ride the length of Africa

in just four months many

others are chasing world

records and several orga-

nized tours have sproutedup in recent years making

The Speedster as ubiqui-

tous in this world as drunk

British nineteen year olds on Gap Years

This entity seems to exist only on

busy highways and dreary uninspir-

ing parts of the world never on rough

roads never in those wild placesWhen we do cross paths the conver-

sation follows a predictable pattern

often beginning with ldquoSo how many ki-

lometres have you comerdquo Followed

swiftly by ldquoAnd how long did that takerdquo

Cue furrowed brow mental arithmetic

is in progress as The Speedster tries to

calculate exactly how many more kilome-

tres they cover per month than you do

Itrsquos a shame that wersquove entered an era

of fast and furious bike adventures I canrsquot

help but wonder whether

people are forgetting what

for me is the ultimate high

of traveling by bicycle - the

slow transition The bicycle

is simply one of the best

mediums to explore a coun-try in detail As one place

slowly merges with another

bicycle travelers watch the

world evolve Why race through To see

a lot but to experience little By setting a

time limit you beef up the challenge but

acic omthig that to m at at i

far more important - the adventure Thetimes I have felt most alive have been

on those dusty tracks at the very edge of

civilization The times Irsquove relished more

than any other have been when Irsquove tak-

en up offers of hospitality from local peo-

ple offers which I presume would often

be declined by the speed freaks all in the

name of a few more miles before sunset

Phap Irsquom vgig o big o of

those conceited know-it-alls the type of

irritating traveler who seems convinced

P h o t o S T E

V E F A B E S

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3536JANUARY 2012 - WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL 35

Dr Steve Fabes aims to cycle the length ofthe 6 continents while raising money for the

UK health charity Merlin You can followSteve at wwwcyclingthe6blogspotcom

CONTRIBUTORSthey are exploring the world in a superior

way than most but why not take more

time to look around Constantly dwell-

ing on distance and on time and on the

future means you forget to be surprised

by the present Why not resist always

taking the shortest or the easiest path

loop a ptti tha taight i

Shrug off that addiction to asphalt Take

time to banter with passersby and every

once in a while take a detour through a

town or village just because it has a fun-

ny sounding name on the map

And to The Speedsters out there I

have a few suggestions to make life eas-ier First off - a urinary catheter to oblit-

erate the need for all those time wast-

ing toilet stops A straw into your mouth

connected to a huge hat containing car-

bo-rich liquidized mush the kind of stuff

NASA gives to its astronauts And lastly

a tiny video camera on the handlebars

recording everything that occurs outsideyo twty dg via d That way

if something interesting happens to your

left or right therersquos no need to turn your

had catig dag ad acicig v-

locity Just watch it on tape afterwards in

the comfort of your own home whilst you

tell your friends and family how amazing

the experience was although you wishthat puncture on the N2 hadnacutet dented

your November average And next time

we meet - have some empathy please

Wersquore not all like you so letrsquos not talk in

numbers Tell me a good story insteadBT

AALDRIK MULDER

ALICIA URREA

ALVARO NEIL

AMAYA WILLIAMS

ANDREW MORGAN

ANDREW SYKES

BENJAMIN JACOB

DAVE CONROY

DAVID GREGORY

DAVID PIPER

DEAN CLEMENTSON

DENNIS KOOMEN

DIRK VAN HULLE

DUSTIN ORRICK

ED BRABANDER

EMMA PHILPOTT

FABIAN NAWRATH

FEARGHAL ONUALLAIN

FRED SPENGLER

FRIEDEL GRANT

GUY MOODIE

HANNA MI JAKOBSON

HARRY WAGENAAR

HELEN LLOYD

HENRIK RISAGER

HENRY BRYDON

JACK MOORE

JANYIS WATSON

JARED MITCHELL

JOSIE DEW

KATIE TIBBETTS

LEONARDO CORRADINI

LIZ WILTON

LORETTA HENDERSON

LYNETTE EYB

MARC FREEDMAN

MIKE BOLES

MIRJAM WOUTERS

PAUL JEURISSEN

RACHEL HUGENS

ROB HALKETT

ROB LUCAS

RUDI VERHAGEN

SCOTT STOLL

SHANE LITTLE

SIMON STEWART

STEVE FABES

THOMAS RILEY

TOM KEVILL-DAVIES

TYLER KELLEN

WILLEM MEGENS

rciv a SHOW IT book

with your FREE subscription to

Bicycle Traveler magazinewwwbicycletravelernl

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3636

Photo FEARGHAL Orsquo NUALLAIN

TravelerBicycle

Parting shot

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3036WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL - JANUARY 201230

PAUL JEURISSENwwwpauljeurissennl

India

Image Roadthe

from

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3136JANUARY 2012 - WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL 31

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3236WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL - JANUARY 201232

Not being able to go pee barefoot

in the middle of the nightrdquo Aicia ua wwwrodadasnet

ldquoMy WardrobeEvery girl should have more

than 3 sets of clothes to choose from

H loyd httphelenstakeoncom

ldquoNadda nil nix zippo zilch zip

lotta Hdo wwwskalatitudecom

Longing for

My kitchen - as a hungry cyclist

I dream about itrdquoTom Kevill-Davies wwwhungrycyclistcom

ldquoThe comfort of my own toilet

Dennis Koomen

wwwtoko-op-etsvakantienl

Facebook as I do not take a

smartphone on my tripsrdquoDirk van Hulle

wwwfacebookcomdirkvanhulle

Monday morning tube ride into

lodorsquo rat racrdquoHenry Brydon wwwtheblazingsaddlescom

rdquo

ldquo

rdquo

rdquo

rdquo

rdquo

Twitt - it i difct to cyc ad twtrdquoSimon Stewart wwwsilk-wheelscom

Sitting on the coach watchingmovies with my familyrdquoDustin Orrick wwwwork2ridecom

Clearly marked prices when shoppingrdquoFred Spengler

wwwcrazyguyonabikecomonrbikes

ldquoShoes that donrsquot go ldquoclick clickrdquo

when you walk

Guy Moodie wwwabikejourneycom

ldquoNot having to put on

frozen shoes in the morningThoma riy

wwwaroundtheworldforwatercouk

Anything that casts a shadow

resting in the shaderdquoDavid Gregory wwwboomersonbikescom

ldquo A loud stereo - to drown out the sound

of big trucks and noisy carsDave Conroy wwwtiredotca

What do cyclists miss on their trips

ldquoChairman Meowthe coolest cat in Canada

Mike Boles httpmikeonbikewordpresscom

ldquoKnowing the name of the place Irsquom

headed to when asked where Irsquom going

emma Phipott wwwrolling-talescom

Photo PAul JeurIssen

rdquo

rdquo

rdquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3336

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3436WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL - JANUARY 201234

SPEEDSTERS By STEVE FABES

COLUMN

Chances are you have met one Phap yo v a o Had ow back amot hoizota max-

imum two panniers and eyes scanning the trailing asphalt ner-

voy taig tig gac at th odomt Itrsquo th spdt

The

During my journey Irsquove

met many cyclists striving

to ride the length of Africa

in just four months many

others are chasing world

records and several orga-

nized tours have sproutedup in recent years making

The Speedster as ubiqui-

tous in this world as drunk

British nineteen year olds on Gap Years

This entity seems to exist only on

busy highways and dreary uninspir-

ing parts of the world never on rough

roads never in those wild placesWhen we do cross paths the conver-

sation follows a predictable pattern

often beginning with ldquoSo how many ki-

lometres have you comerdquo Followed

swiftly by ldquoAnd how long did that takerdquo

Cue furrowed brow mental arithmetic

is in progress as The Speedster tries to

calculate exactly how many more kilome-

tres they cover per month than you do

Itrsquos a shame that wersquove entered an era

of fast and furious bike adventures I canrsquot

help but wonder whether

people are forgetting what

for me is the ultimate high

of traveling by bicycle - the

slow transition The bicycle

is simply one of the best

mediums to explore a coun-try in detail As one place

slowly merges with another

bicycle travelers watch the

world evolve Why race through To see

a lot but to experience little By setting a

time limit you beef up the challenge but

acic omthig that to m at at i

far more important - the adventure Thetimes I have felt most alive have been

on those dusty tracks at the very edge of

civilization The times Irsquove relished more

than any other have been when Irsquove tak-

en up offers of hospitality from local peo-

ple offers which I presume would often

be declined by the speed freaks all in the

name of a few more miles before sunset

Phap Irsquom vgig o big o of

those conceited know-it-alls the type of

irritating traveler who seems convinced

P h o t o S T E

V E F A B E S

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3536JANUARY 2012 - WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL 35

Dr Steve Fabes aims to cycle the length ofthe 6 continents while raising money for the

UK health charity Merlin You can followSteve at wwwcyclingthe6blogspotcom

CONTRIBUTORSthey are exploring the world in a superior

way than most but why not take more

time to look around Constantly dwell-

ing on distance and on time and on the

future means you forget to be surprised

by the present Why not resist always

taking the shortest or the easiest path

loop a ptti tha taight i

Shrug off that addiction to asphalt Take

time to banter with passersby and every

once in a while take a detour through a

town or village just because it has a fun-

ny sounding name on the map

And to The Speedsters out there I

have a few suggestions to make life eas-ier First off - a urinary catheter to oblit-

erate the need for all those time wast-

ing toilet stops A straw into your mouth

connected to a huge hat containing car-

bo-rich liquidized mush the kind of stuff

NASA gives to its astronauts And lastly

a tiny video camera on the handlebars

recording everything that occurs outsideyo twty dg via d That way

if something interesting happens to your

left or right therersquos no need to turn your

had catig dag ad acicig v-

locity Just watch it on tape afterwards in

the comfort of your own home whilst you

tell your friends and family how amazing

the experience was although you wishthat puncture on the N2 hadnacutet dented

your November average And next time

we meet - have some empathy please

Wersquore not all like you so letrsquos not talk in

numbers Tell me a good story insteadBT

AALDRIK MULDER

ALICIA URREA

ALVARO NEIL

AMAYA WILLIAMS

ANDREW MORGAN

ANDREW SYKES

BENJAMIN JACOB

DAVE CONROY

DAVID GREGORY

DAVID PIPER

DEAN CLEMENTSON

DENNIS KOOMEN

DIRK VAN HULLE

DUSTIN ORRICK

ED BRABANDER

EMMA PHILPOTT

FABIAN NAWRATH

FEARGHAL ONUALLAIN

FRED SPENGLER

FRIEDEL GRANT

GUY MOODIE

HANNA MI JAKOBSON

HARRY WAGENAAR

HELEN LLOYD

HENRIK RISAGER

HENRY BRYDON

JACK MOORE

JANYIS WATSON

JARED MITCHELL

JOSIE DEW

KATIE TIBBETTS

LEONARDO CORRADINI

LIZ WILTON

LORETTA HENDERSON

LYNETTE EYB

MARC FREEDMAN

MIKE BOLES

MIRJAM WOUTERS

PAUL JEURISSEN

RACHEL HUGENS

ROB HALKETT

ROB LUCAS

RUDI VERHAGEN

SCOTT STOLL

SHANE LITTLE

SIMON STEWART

STEVE FABES

THOMAS RILEY

TOM KEVILL-DAVIES

TYLER KELLEN

WILLEM MEGENS

rciv a SHOW IT book

with your FREE subscription to

Bicycle Traveler magazinewwwbicycletravelernl

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3636

Photo FEARGHAL Orsquo NUALLAIN

TravelerBicycle

Parting shot

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3136JANUARY 2012 - WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL 31

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3236WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL - JANUARY 201232

Not being able to go pee barefoot

in the middle of the nightrdquo Aicia ua wwwrodadasnet

ldquoMy WardrobeEvery girl should have more

than 3 sets of clothes to choose from

H loyd httphelenstakeoncom

ldquoNadda nil nix zippo zilch zip

lotta Hdo wwwskalatitudecom

Longing for

My kitchen - as a hungry cyclist

I dream about itrdquoTom Kevill-Davies wwwhungrycyclistcom

ldquoThe comfort of my own toilet

Dennis Koomen

wwwtoko-op-etsvakantienl

Facebook as I do not take a

smartphone on my tripsrdquoDirk van Hulle

wwwfacebookcomdirkvanhulle

Monday morning tube ride into

lodorsquo rat racrdquoHenry Brydon wwwtheblazingsaddlescom

rdquo

ldquo

rdquo

rdquo

rdquo

rdquo

Twitt - it i difct to cyc ad twtrdquoSimon Stewart wwwsilk-wheelscom

Sitting on the coach watchingmovies with my familyrdquoDustin Orrick wwwwork2ridecom

Clearly marked prices when shoppingrdquoFred Spengler

wwwcrazyguyonabikecomonrbikes

ldquoShoes that donrsquot go ldquoclick clickrdquo

when you walk

Guy Moodie wwwabikejourneycom

ldquoNot having to put on

frozen shoes in the morningThoma riy

wwwaroundtheworldforwatercouk

Anything that casts a shadow

resting in the shaderdquoDavid Gregory wwwboomersonbikescom

ldquo A loud stereo - to drown out the sound

of big trucks and noisy carsDave Conroy wwwtiredotca

What do cyclists miss on their trips

ldquoChairman Meowthe coolest cat in Canada

Mike Boles httpmikeonbikewordpresscom

ldquoKnowing the name of the place Irsquom

headed to when asked where Irsquom going

emma Phipott wwwrolling-talescom

Photo PAul JeurIssen

rdquo

rdquo

rdquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3336

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3436WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL - JANUARY 201234

SPEEDSTERS By STEVE FABES

COLUMN

Chances are you have met one Phap yo v a o Had ow back amot hoizota max-

imum two panniers and eyes scanning the trailing asphalt ner-

voy taig tig gac at th odomt Itrsquo th spdt

The

During my journey Irsquove

met many cyclists striving

to ride the length of Africa

in just four months many

others are chasing world

records and several orga-

nized tours have sproutedup in recent years making

The Speedster as ubiqui-

tous in this world as drunk

British nineteen year olds on Gap Years

This entity seems to exist only on

busy highways and dreary uninspir-

ing parts of the world never on rough

roads never in those wild placesWhen we do cross paths the conver-

sation follows a predictable pattern

often beginning with ldquoSo how many ki-

lometres have you comerdquo Followed

swiftly by ldquoAnd how long did that takerdquo

Cue furrowed brow mental arithmetic

is in progress as The Speedster tries to

calculate exactly how many more kilome-

tres they cover per month than you do

Itrsquos a shame that wersquove entered an era

of fast and furious bike adventures I canrsquot

help but wonder whether

people are forgetting what

for me is the ultimate high

of traveling by bicycle - the

slow transition The bicycle

is simply one of the best

mediums to explore a coun-try in detail As one place

slowly merges with another

bicycle travelers watch the

world evolve Why race through To see

a lot but to experience little By setting a

time limit you beef up the challenge but

acic omthig that to m at at i

far more important - the adventure Thetimes I have felt most alive have been

on those dusty tracks at the very edge of

civilization The times Irsquove relished more

than any other have been when Irsquove tak-

en up offers of hospitality from local peo-

ple offers which I presume would often

be declined by the speed freaks all in the

name of a few more miles before sunset

Phap Irsquom vgig o big o of

those conceited know-it-alls the type of

irritating traveler who seems convinced

P h o t o S T E

V E F A B E S

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3536JANUARY 2012 - WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL 35

Dr Steve Fabes aims to cycle the length ofthe 6 continents while raising money for the

UK health charity Merlin You can followSteve at wwwcyclingthe6blogspotcom

CONTRIBUTORSthey are exploring the world in a superior

way than most but why not take more

time to look around Constantly dwell-

ing on distance and on time and on the

future means you forget to be surprised

by the present Why not resist always

taking the shortest or the easiest path

loop a ptti tha taight i

Shrug off that addiction to asphalt Take

time to banter with passersby and every

once in a while take a detour through a

town or village just because it has a fun-

ny sounding name on the map

And to The Speedsters out there I

have a few suggestions to make life eas-ier First off - a urinary catheter to oblit-

erate the need for all those time wast-

ing toilet stops A straw into your mouth

connected to a huge hat containing car-

bo-rich liquidized mush the kind of stuff

NASA gives to its astronauts And lastly

a tiny video camera on the handlebars

recording everything that occurs outsideyo twty dg via d That way

if something interesting happens to your

left or right therersquos no need to turn your

had catig dag ad acicig v-

locity Just watch it on tape afterwards in

the comfort of your own home whilst you

tell your friends and family how amazing

the experience was although you wishthat puncture on the N2 hadnacutet dented

your November average And next time

we meet - have some empathy please

Wersquore not all like you so letrsquos not talk in

numbers Tell me a good story insteadBT

AALDRIK MULDER

ALICIA URREA

ALVARO NEIL

AMAYA WILLIAMS

ANDREW MORGAN

ANDREW SYKES

BENJAMIN JACOB

DAVE CONROY

DAVID GREGORY

DAVID PIPER

DEAN CLEMENTSON

DENNIS KOOMEN

DIRK VAN HULLE

DUSTIN ORRICK

ED BRABANDER

EMMA PHILPOTT

FABIAN NAWRATH

FEARGHAL ONUALLAIN

FRED SPENGLER

FRIEDEL GRANT

GUY MOODIE

HANNA MI JAKOBSON

HARRY WAGENAAR

HELEN LLOYD

HENRIK RISAGER

HENRY BRYDON

JACK MOORE

JANYIS WATSON

JARED MITCHELL

JOSIE DEW

KATIE TIBBETTS

LEONARDO CORRADINI

LIZ WILTON

LORETTA HENDERSON

LYNETTE EYB

MARC FREEDMAN

MIKE BOLES

MIRJAM WOUTERS

PAUL JEURISSEN

RACHEL HUGENS

ROB HALKETT

ROB LUCAS

RUDI VERHAGEN

SCOTT STOLL

SHANE LITTLE

SIMON STEWART

STEVE FABES

THOMAS RILEY

TOM KEVILL-DAVIES

TYLER KELLEN

WILLEM MEGENS

rciv a SHOW IT book

with your FREE subscription to

Bicycle Traveler magazinewwwbicycletravelernl

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3636

Photo FEARGHAL Orsquo NUALLAIN

TravelerBicycle

Parting shot

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3236WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL - JANUARY 201232

Not being able to go pee barefoot

in the middle of the nightrdquo Aicia ua wwwrodadasnet

ldquoMy WardrobeEvery girl should have more

than 3 sets of clothes to choose from

H loyd httphelenstakeoncom

ldquoNadda nil nix zippo zilch zip

lotta Hdo wwwskalatitudecom

Longing for

My kitchen - as a hungry cyclist

I dream about itrdquoTom Kevill-Davies wwwhungrycyclistcom

ldquoThe comfort of my own toilet

Dennis Koomen

wwwtoko-op-etsvakantienl

Facebook as I do not take a

smartphone on my tripsrdquoDirk van Hulle

wwwfacebookcomdirkvanhulle

Monday morning tube ride into

lodorsquo rat racrdquoHenry Brydon wwwtheblazingsaddlescom

rdquo

ldquo

rdquo

rdquo

rdquo

rdquo

Twitt - it i difct to cyc ad twtrdquoSimon Stewart wwwsilk-wheelscom

Sitting on the coach watchingmovies with my familyrdquoDustin Orrick wwwwork2ridecom

Clearly marked prices when shoppingrdquoFred Spengler

wwwcrazyguyonabikecomonrbikes

ldquoShoes that donrsquot go ldquoclick clickrdquo

when you walk

Guy Moodie wwwabikejourneycom

ldquoNot having to put on

frozen shoes in the morningThoma riy

wwwaroundtheworldforwatercouk

Anything that casts a shadow

resting in the shaderdquoDavid Gregory wwwboomersonbikescom

ldquo A loud stereo - to drown out the sound

of big trucks and noisy carsDave Conroy wwwtiredotca

What do cyclists miss on their trips

ldquoChairman Meowthe coolest cat in Canada

Mike Boles httpmikeonbikewordpresscom

ldquoKnowing the name of the place Irsquom

headed to when asked where Irsquom going

emma Phipott wwwrolling-talescom

Photo PAul JeurIssen

rdquo

rdquo

rdquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

ldquo

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3336

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3436WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL - JANUARY 201234

SPEEDSTERS By STEVE FABES

COLUMN

Chances are you have met one Phap yo v a o Had ow back amot hoizota max-

imum two panniers and eyes scanning the trailing asphalt ner-

voy taig tig gac at th odomt Itrsquo th spdt

The

During my journey Irsquove

met many cyclists striving

to ride the length of Africa

in just four months many

others are chasing world

records and several orga-

nized tours have sproutedup in recent years making

The Speedster as ubiqui-

tous in this world as drunk

British nineteen year olds on Gap Years

This entity seems to exist only on

busy highways and dreary uninspir-

ing parts of the world never on rough

roads never in those wild placesWhen we do cross paths the conver-

sation follows a predictable pattern

often beginning with ldquoSo how many ki-

lometres have you comerdquo Followed

swiftly by ldquoAnd how long did that takerdquo

Cue furrowed brow mental arithmetic

is in progress as The Speedster tries to

calculate exactly how many more kilome-

tres they cover per month than you do

Itrsquos a shame that wersquove entered an era

of fast and furious bike adventures I canrsquot

help but wonder whether

people are forgetting what

for me is the ultimate high

of traveling by bicycle - the

slow transition The bicycle

is simply one of the best

mediums to explore a coun-try in detail As one place

slowly merges with another

bicycle travelers watch the

world evolve Why race through To see

a lot but to experience little By setting a

time limit you beef up the challenge but

acic omthig that to m at at i

far more important - the adventure Thetimes I have felt most alive have been

on those dusty tracks at the very edge of

civilization The times Irsquove relished more

than any other have been when Irsquove tak-

en up offers of hospitality from local peo-

ple offers which I presume would often

be declined by the speed freaks all in the

name of a few more miles before sunset

Phap Irsquom vgig o big o of

those conceited know-it-alls the type of

irritating traveler who seems convinced

P h o t o S T E

V E F A B E S

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3536JANUARY 2012 - WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL 35

Dr Steve Fabes aims to cycle the length ofthe 6 continents while raising money for the

UK health charity Merlin You can followSteve at wwwcyclingthe6blogspotcom

CONTRIBUTORSthey are exploring the world in a superior

way than most but why not take more

time to look around Constantly dwell-

ing on distance and on time and on the

future means you forget to be surprised

by the present Why not resist always

taking the shortest or the easiest path

loop a ptti tha taight i

Shrug off that addiction to asphalt Take

time to banter with passersby and every

once in a while take a detour through a

town or village just because it has a fun-

ny sounding name on the map

And to The Speedsters out there I

have a few suggestions to make life eas-ier First off - a urinary catheter to oblit-

erate the need for all those time wast-

ing toilet stops A straw into your mouth

connected to a huge hat containing car-

bo-rich liquidized mush the kind of stuff

NASA gives to its astronauts And lastly

a tiny video camera on the handlebars

recording everything that occurs outsideyo twty dg via d That way

if something interesting happens to your

left or right therersquos no need to turn your

had catig dag ad acicig v-

locity Just watch it on tape afterwards in

the comfort of your own home whilst you

tell your friends and family how amazing

the experience was although you wishthat puncture on the N2 hadnacutet dented

your November average And next time

we meet - have some empathy please

Wersquore not all like you so letrsquos not talk in

numbers Tell me a good story insteadBT

AALDRIK MULDER

ALICIA URREA

ALVARO NEIL

AMAYA WILLIAMS

ANDREW MORGAN

ANDREW SYKES

BENJAMIN JACOB

DAVE CONROY

DAVID GREGORY

DAVID PIPER

DEAN CLEMENTSON

DENNIS KOOMEN

DIRK VAN HULLE

DUSTIN ORRICK

ED BRABANDER

EMMA PHILPOTT

FABIAN NAWRATH

FEARGHAL ONUALLAIN

FRED SPENGLER

FRIEDEL GRANT

GUY MOODIE

HANNA MI JAKOBSON

HARRY WAGENAAR

HELEN LLOYD

HENRIK RISAGER

HENRY BRYDON

JACK MOORE

JANYIS WATSON

JARED MITCHELL

JOSIE DEW

KATIE TIBBETTS

LEONARDO CORRADINI

LIZ WILTON

LORETTA HENDERSON

LYNETTE EYB

MARC FREEDMAN

MIKE BOLES

MIRJAM WOUTERS

PAUL JEURISSEN

RACHEL HUGENS

ROB HALKETT

ROB LUCAS

RUDI VERHAGEN

SCOTT STOLL

SHANE LITTLE

SIMON STEWART

STEVE FABES

THOMAS RILEY

TOM KEVILL-DAVIES

TYLER KELLEN

WILLEM MEGENS

rciv a SHOW IT book

with your FREE subscription to

Bicycle Traveler magazinewwwbicycletravelernl

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3636

Photo FEARGHAL Orsquo NUALLAIN

TravelerBicycle

Parting shot

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3336

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3436WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL - JANUARY 201234

SPEEDSTERS By STEVE FABES

COLUMN

Chances are you have met one Phap yo v a o Had ow back amot hoizota max-

imum two panniers and eyes scanning the trailing asphalt ner-

voy taig tig gac at th odomt Itrsquo th spdt

The

During my journey Irsquove

met many cyclists striving

to ride the length of Africa

in just four months many

others are chasing world

records and several orga-

nized tours have sproutedup in recent years making

The Speedster as ubiqui-

tous in this world as drunk

British nineteen year olds on Gap Years

This entity seems to exist only on

busy highways and dreary uninspir-

ing parts of the world never on rough

roads never in those wild placesWhen we do cross paths the conver-

sation follows a predictable pattern

often beginning with ldquoSo how many ki-

lometres have you comerdquo Followed

swiftly by ldquoAnd how long did that takerdquo

Cue furrowed brow mental arithmetic

is in progress as The Speedster tries to

calculate exactly how many more kilome-

tres they cover per month than you do

Itrsquos a shame that wersquove entered an era

of fast and furious bike adventures I canrsquot

help but wonder whether

people are forgetting what

for me is the ultimate high

of traveling by bicycle - the

slow transition The bicycle

is simply one of the best

mediums to explore a coun-try in detail As one place

slowly merges with another

bicycle travelers watch the

world evolve Why race through To see

a lot but to experience little By setting a

time limit you beef up the challenge but

acic omthig that to m at at i

far more important - the adventure Thetimes I have felt most alive have been

on those dusty tracks at the very edge of

civilization The times Irsquove relished more

than any other have been when Irsquove tak-

en up offers of hospitality from local peo-

ple offers which I presume would often

be declined by the speed freaks all in the

name of a few more miles before sunset

Phap Irsquom vgig o big o of

those conceited know-it-alls the type of

irritating traveler who seems convinced

P h o t o S T E

V E F A B E S

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3536JANUARY 2012 - WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL 35

Dr Steve Fabes aims to cycle the length ofthe 6 continents while raising money for the

UK health charity Merlin You can followSteve at wwwcyclingthe6blogspotcom

CONTRIBUTORSthey are exploring the world in a superior

way than most but why not take more

time to look around Constantly dwell-

ing on distance and on time and on the

future means you forget to be surprised

by the present Why not resist always

taking the shortest or the easiest path

loop a ptti tha taight i

Shrug off that addiction to asphalt Take

time to banter with passersby and every

once in a while take a detour through a

town or village just because it has a fun-

ny sounding name on the map

And to The Speedsters out there I

have a few suggestions to make life eas-ier First off - a urinary catheter to oblit-

erate the need for all those time wast-

ing toilet stops A straw into your mouth

connected to a huge hat containing car-

bo-rich liquidized mush the kind of stuff

NASA gives to its astronauts And lastly

a tiny video camera on the handlebars

recording everything that occurs outsideyo twty dg via d That way

if something interesting happens to your

left or right therersquos no need to turn your

had catig dag ad acicig v-

locity Just watch it on tape afterwards in

the comfort of your own home whilst you

tell your friends and family how amazing

the experience was although you wishthat puncture on the N2 hadnacutet dented

your November average And next time

we meet - have some empathy please

Wersquore not all like you so letrsquos not talk in

numbers Tell me a good story insteadBT

AALDRIK MULDER

ALICIA URREA

ALVARO NEIL

AMAYA WILLIAMS

ANDREW MORGAN

ANDREW SYKES

BENJAMIN JACOB

DAVE CONROY

DAVID GREGORY

DAVID PIPER

DEAN CLEMENTSON

DENNIS KOOMEN

DIRK VAN HULLE

DUSTIN ORRICK

ED BRABANDER

EMMA PHILPOTT

FABIAN NAWRATH

FEARGHAL ONUALLAIN

FRED SPENGLER

FRIEDEL GRANT

GUY MOODIE

HANNA MI JAKOBSON

HARRY WAGENAAR

HELEN LLOYD

HENRIK RISAGER

HENRY BRYDON

JACK MOORE

JANYIS WATSON

JARED MITCHELL

JOSIE DEW

KATIE TIBBETTS

LEONARDO CORRADINI

LIZ WILTON

LORETTA HENDERSON

LYNETTE EYB

MARC FREEDMAN

MIKE BOLES

MIRJAM WOUTERS

PAUL JEURISSEN

RACHEL HUGENS

ROB HALKETT

ROB LUCAS

RUDI VERHAGEN

SCOTT STOLL

SHANE LITTLE

SIMON STEWART

STEVE FABES

THOMAS RILEY

TOM KEVILL-DAVIES

TYLER KELLEN

WILLEM MEGENS

rciv a SHOW IT book

with your FREE subscription to

Bicycle Traveler magazinewwwbicycletravelernl

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3636

Photo FEARGHAL Orsquo NUALLAIN

TravelerBicycle

Parting shot

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3436WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL - JANUARY 201234

SPEEDSTERS By STEVE FABES

COLUMN

Chances are you have met one Phap yo v a o Had ow back amot hoizota max-

imum two panniers and eyes scanning the trailing asphalt ner-

voy taig tig gac at th odomt Itrsquo th spdt

The

During my journey Irsquove

met many cyclists striving

to ride the length of Africa

in just four months many

others are chasing world

records and several orga-

nized tours have sproutedup in recent years making

The Speedster as ubiqui-

tous in this world as drunk

British nineteen year olds on Gap Years

This entity seems to exist only on

busy highways and dreary uninspir-

ing parts of the world never on rough

roads never in those wild placesWhen we do cross paths the conver-

sation follows a predictable pattern

often beginning with ldquoSo how many ki-

lometres have you comerdquo Followed

swiftly by ldquoAnd how long did that takerdquo

Cue furrowed brow mental arithmetic

is in progress as The Speedster tries to

calculate exactly how many more kilome-

tres they cover per month than you do

Itrsquos a shame that wersquove entered an era

of fast and furious bike adventures I canrsquot

help but wonder whether

people are forgetting what

for me is the ultimate high

of traveling by bicycle - the

slow transition The bicycle

is simply one of the best

mediums to explore a coun-try in detail As one place

slowly merges with another

bicycle travelers watch the

world evolve Why race through To see

a lot but to experience little By setting a

time limit you beef up the challenge but

acic omthig that to m at at i

far more important - the adventure Thetimes I have felt most alive have been

on those dusty tracks at the very edge of

civilization The times Irsquove relished more

than any other have been when Irsquove tak-

en up offers of hospitality from local peo-

ple offers which I presume would often

be declined by the speed freaks all in the

name of a few more miles before sunset

Phap Irsquom vgig o big o of

those conceited know-it-alls the type of

irritating traveler who seems convinced

P h o t o S T E

V E F A B E S

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3536JANUARY 2012 - WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL 35

Dr Steve Fabes aims to cycle the length ofthe 6 continents while raising money for the

UK health charity Merlin You can followSteve at wwwcyclingthe6blogspotcom

CONTRIBUTORSthey are exploring the world in a superior

way than most but why not take more

time to look around Constantly dwell-

ing on distance and on time and on the

future means you forget to be surprised

by the present Why not resist always

taking the shortest or the easiest path

loop a ptti tha taight i

Shrug off that addiction to asphalt Take

time to banter with passersby and every

once in a while take a detour through a

town or village just because it has a fun-

ny sounding name on the map

And to The Speedsters out there I

have a few suggestions to make life eas-ier First off - a urinary catheter to oblit-

erate the need for all those time wast-

ing toilet stops A straw into your mouth

connected to a huge hat containing car-

bo-rich liquidized mush the kind of stuff

NASA gives to its astronauts And lastly

a tiny video camera on the handlebars

recording everything that occurs outsideyo twty dg via d That way

if something interesting happens to your

left or right therersquos no need to turn your

had catig dag ad acicig v-

locity Just watch it on tape afterwards in

the comfort of your own home whilst you

tell your friends and family how amazing

the experience was although you wishthat puncture on the N2 hadnacutet dented

your November average And next time

we meet - have some empathy please

Wersquore not all like you so letrsquos not talk in

numbers Tell me a good story insteadBT

AALDRIK MULDER

ALICIA URREA

ALVARO NEIL

AMAYA WILLIAMS

ANDREW MORGAN

ANDREW SYKES

BENJAMIN JACOB

DAVE CONROY

DAVID GREGORY

DAVID PIPER

DEAN CLEMENTSON

DENNIS KOOMEN

DIRK VAN HULLE

DUSTIN ORRICK

ED BRABANDER

EMMA PHILPOTT

FABIAN NAWRATH

FEARGHAL ONUALLAIN

FRED SPENGLER

FRIEDEL GRANT

GUY MOODIE

HANNA MI JAKOBSON

HARRY WAGENAAR

HELEN LLOYD

HENRIK RISAGER

HENRY BRYDON

JACK MOORE

JANYIS WATSON

JARED MITCHELL

JOSIE DEW

KATIE TIBBETTS

LEONARDO CORRADINI

LIZ WILTON

LORETTA HENDERSON

LYNETTE EYB

MARC FREEDMAN

MIKE BOLES

MIRJAM WOUTERS

PAUL JEURISSEN

RACHEL HUGENS

ROB HALKETT

ROB LUCAS

RUDI VERHAGEN

SCOTT STOLL

SHANE LITTLE

SIMON STEWART

STEVE FABES

THOMAS RILEY

TOM KEVILL-DAVIES

TYLER KELLEN

WILLEM MEGENS

rciv a SHOW IT book

with your FREE subscription to

Bicycle Traveler magazinewwwbicycletravelernl

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3636

Photo FEARGHAL Orsquo NUALLAIN

TravelerBicycle

Parting shot

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3536JANUARY 2012 - WWWBICYCLETRAVELERNL 35

Dr Steve Fabes aims to cycle the length ofthe 6 continents while raising money for the

UK health charity Merlin You can followSteve at wwwcyclingthe6blogspotcom

CONTRIBUTORSthey are exploring the world in a superior

way than most but why not take more

time to look around Constantly dwell-

ing on distance and on time and on the

future means you forget to be surprised

by the present Why not resist always

taking the shortest or the easiest path

loop a ptti tha taight i

Shrug off that addiction to asphalt Take

time to banter with passersby and every

once in a while take a detour through a

town or village just because it has a fun-

ny sounding name on the map

And to The Speedsters out there I

have a few suggestions to make life eas-ier First off - a urinary catheter to oblit-

erate the need for all those time wast-

ing toilet stops A straw into your mouth

connected to a huge hat containing car-

bo-rich liquidized mush the kind of stuff

NASA gives to its astronauts And lastly

a tiny video camera on the handlebars

recording everything that occurs outsideyo twty dg via d That way

if something interesting happens to your

left or right therersquos no need to turn your

had catig dag ad acicig v-

locity Just watch it on tape afterwards in

the comfort of your own home whilst you

tell your friends and family how amazing

the experience was although you wishthat puncture on the N2 hadnacutet dented

your November average And next time

we meet - have some empathy please

Wersquore not all like you so letrsquos not talk in

numbers Tell me a good story insteadBT

AALDRIK MULDER

ALICIA URREA

ALVARO NEIL

AMAYA WILLIAMS

ANDREW MORGAN

ANDREW SYKES

BENJAMIN JACOB

DAVE CONROY

DAVID GREGORY

DAVID PIPER

DEAN CLEMENTSON

DENNIS KOOMEN

DIRK VAN HULLE

DUSTIN ORRICK

ED BRABANDER

EMMA PHILPOTT

FABIAN NAWRATH

FEARGHAL ONUALLAIN

FRED SPENGLER

FRIEDEL GRANT

GUY MOODIE

HANNA MI JAKOBSON

HARRY WAGENAAR

HELEN LLOYD

HENRIK RISAGER

HENRY BRYDON

JACK MOORE

JANYIS WATSON

JARED MITCHELL

JOSIE DEW

KATIE TIBBETTS

LEONARDO CORRADINI

LIZ WILTON

LORETTA HENDERSON

LYNETTE EYB

MARC FREEDMAN

MIKE BOLES

MIRJAM WOUTERS

PAUL JEURISSEN

RACHEL HUGENS

ROB HALKETT

ROB LUCAS

RUDI VERHAGEN

SCOTT STOLL

SHANE LITTLE

SIMON STEWART

STEVE FABES

THOMAS RILEY

TOM KEVILL-DAVIES

TYLER KELLEN

WILLEM MEGENS

rciv a SHOW IT book

with your FREE subscription to

Bicycle Traveler magazinewwwbicycletravelernl

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3636

Photo FEARGHAL Orsquo NUALLAIN

TravelerBicycle

Parting shot

8122019 Bicycle Traveler January 2012

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbicycle-traveler-january-2012 3636

Photo FEARGHAL Orsquo NUALLAIN

TravelerBicycle

Parting shot